N6165M

On January 5, 2001, at 1145 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 152, N6165M, veered off runway 25L, entered a ditch, and nosed over while practicing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings at the Livermore Municipal Airport, Livermore, California. Ahart Aviation, Inc., operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as an instructional flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight. No flight plan had been filed.

In the pilot's written statement to the Safety Board, she stated that the purpose of the flight was to practice touch-and-go's, and she had started about 1000. According to ATIS information, the winds were from 140 at 3 knots. She stated that she had completed 14 touch-and-go takeoffs and landings with no discrepancies. The 15th touch-and-go landing was when the accident occurred.

The pilot reported that an airplane had landed prior to her, and the pilot of that airplane reported that a significant quartering tailwind existed. She decided that the accident landing would be a full stop landing. She stated that the approach speed was faster than the previous landings due to the tailwind. When the airplane bounced on touchdown, the rebound "was substantial." On the third bounce, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane skidded off the left side of the runway for about 20 feet. When she returned to the flight school she asked one of the flight instructors what the reported winds were, and was told that the winds were 12 knots.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector interviewed the pilot. The pilot stated that the airplane's airspeed was 70 knots indicated when the airplane first touched down. The airplane bounced into the air two times, on the third bounce the airplane landed hard. She lost control of the airplane and it veered to the left of the runway. She indicated that there were no mechanical defects noted with the airplane prior to the accident.