Williamstown, NJ, USA
N524JN
Pettigrew, Richard RV-6A
The airplane was on approach to a 2,400-foot-long, 80-foot-wide, turf runway. The pilot reported that everything seemed normal until the airplane settled hard and "dropped" onto the runway. The airplane's empennage struck the ground, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane flipped over. A pilot-rated passenger reported that the pilot started to flare "a little too high," and the airplane stalled about 10 to 12 feet above the ground. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems.
On August 28, 2004, about 1400 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt RV-6A, N524JN, was substantially damaged while landing at the Southern Cross Airport, Williamstown, New Jersey. The certificated private pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot reported he was on approach to runway 27, a 2,400-foot-long, 80-foot-wide, turf runway. He felt that the airplane was too high and too fast, and performed a go-around. During his second approach, everything seemed normal until the airplane settled hard and "dropped" onto the runway. The airplane's empennage struck the ground, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane flipped over. The passenger reported that the pilot started to flare "a little too high," and the airplane stalled about 10 to 12 feet above the ground. The pilot reported 529 hours of total flight experience, which included about 6 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane. He did not report any mechanical problems.
The pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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