N4870B

On July 16, 1997, at 1745 central daylight time, a Cessna 152 airplane, N4870B, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while landing at the Sherman Municipal Airport, near Sherman, Texas. The solo student pilot was not injured. The airplane was owned by Whitmire Enterprises Inc., and operated by the South Central Flying Service, both of Sherman, Texas, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local instructional flight for which a flight plan was not filed. The airplane departed from the Sherman Municipal Airport at approximately 1630.

A witness at the airport reported that the airplane landed hard on runway 16 and the pilot lost control after the airplane porpoised three times, collapsing the nose landing gear on the second bounce. The witness added that after the propeller impacted the runway, the airplane nosed over, coming to rest in the inverted position.

Examination of the 1979 model airplane at the accident site by the FAA inspector confirmed the evidence of propeller slashes on the pavement. The inspector added that the engine firewall was buckled, both wings sustained structural damage and the vertical stabilizer was crushed. The inspector further stated that the student pilot was in the United States from Poland on a student visa to learn to fly, and he had accumulated a total of 18 hours of flight at the time of the accident.