N321BT

On September 3, 2023, about 1900 central daylight time, a Van’s Aircraft RV-12iS airplane, N321BT, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Crystal, Minnesota. The pilot sustained minor injuries and the passenger sustained no injury. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The light-sport airplane departed from the Major Gilbert Field Airport (4R5), La Pointe, Wisconsin, about 1725, for the cross-country flight. The intended destination was the Crystal Airport (MIC), Minneapolis, Minnesota. During the landing at MIC, the airplane touched down on runway 24R, which was a dry asphalt runway, and bounced two times. The nose gear collapsed, the propeller struck the ground, and the airplane came to rest upright on the runway in a nose-down attitude. The two occupants were able to exit the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage.

A postaccident metallurgical examination of the fractured nose landing gear strut revealed features consistent with ductile overstress fracture. There was no evidence of any pre-existing damage to the nose landing gear strut.

The Federal Aviation Administration has published the Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), which discusses bounced landings and states in part:

Since a bounce occurs when the airplane makes contact with the ground before the proper touchdown attitude is attained, it is almost invariably accompanied by the application of excessive back-elevator pressure. This is usually the result of the pilot realizing too late that the airplane is not in the proper attitude and attempting to establish it just as the second touchdown occurs.