Aviation Accident Summaries

Aviation Accident Summary NYC04CA091

Norwood, MA, USA

Aircraft #1

N6535J

Piper PA-28-180

Analysis

The student pilot was conducting her first unsupervised solo flight, and was practicing takeoffs and landings on a 4,008-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, asphalt runway. She had completed approximately 17 landings prior to the accident; however, during the next landing attempt, her approach was high, and when the airplane contacted the runway, it landed harder, and bounced higher, than usual. The airplane began to porpoise, the propeller struck the runway, and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane then departed the right side of the runway and struck a snow bank. The student pilot did not experience any mechanical problems. She reported 49.2 hours of total flight experience, all in the make and model of the accident airplane.

Factual Information

On March 24, 2004, about 0845 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N6535J, was substantially damaged while landing at the Norwood Memorial Airport (OWD), Norwood, Massachusetts. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the solo instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot was conducting her first unsupervised solo flight, and was practicing takeoffs and landings on runway 17, a 4,008-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The student pilot reported that she had completed approximately 17 landings prior to the accident; however, during the next landing attempt, her approach was high, and when the airplane contacted the runway, it landed harder, and bounced higher, than usual. The airplane began to porpoise, the propeller struck the runway, and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane then departed the right side of the runway and struck a snow bank. The student pilot stated that she did not experience any mechanical problems. She reported 49.2 hours of total flight experience, all in the make and model of the accident airplane. Winds reported at OWD, about the time of the accident, were calm.

Probable Cause and Findings

The student pilot failure to recover from a bounced landing. A factor in this accident was the student pilot's lack of solo flight experience.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

Get all the details on your iPhone or iPad with:

Aviation Accidents App

In-Depth Access to Aviation Accident Reports