N89242

On August 2, 1997, at 1020 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N89242, was substantially damaged when it touched down hard at the Plymouth Municipal Airport, Plymouth, Massachusetts. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight. A flight plan was not filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The pilot said he was on a local, solo flight. He left the area for about 20 minutes to practice ground reference maneuvers. On his departure, the wind velocity was about 4 knots. However, on his return, the reported winds were from 270 degrees at 13 knots, with gusts to 22 knots, so he performed a go-around.

During his second approach to land on runway 33, the only open runway, the airplane touched down hard, bounced, veered to the right, and nosed over.

According to the Chief Flight Instructor, soon after the pilot departed, the winds increased from the southwest. He said that the southwest runway was closed for construction, and he became concerned about several solo flights that had been dispatched earlier, so he called the pilots over the Unicom frequency for them to return. By that time, the maximum wind, maximum gusts, and crosswind limitations were above the pilot's capability.

The pilot had over 33 hours of total flight experience, including 25 hours in make and model. He reported that there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane or the engine.