Piper PA-24-180 N5129P

Summary

On 2 November 2002 at about 01:30 local time, a Piper PA-24-180 registered N5129P was involved in an accident near Corona, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 November 2002 at 01:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Corona, California, United States

Nearest airport

Corona Municipal (AJO)

Coordinates

33.8978, -117.6042

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-180

Registration

N5129P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Corona → Corona

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

LAX03LA018

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's misjudged landing flare. Also causal were the pilot's improper bounced landing recovery procedures and inadvertent swerve, resulting in the landing gear collapsing from overload.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following an unstabilized approach, the private pilot landed the airplane hard in a nose low attitude and bounced. Thereafter, the pilot was unsuccessful in his recovery efforts and lost control of the airplane as it bounced again. The airplane swerved off the runway overloading the landing gear until it collapsed. The pilot was a ground school instructor, did not hold a certified flight instructor certificate, and was flying from the right seat. The airplane's owner, who also held a private pilot certificate, occupied the left seat. The owner indicated that his ground school instructor's handling of the airplane's controls from the right seat was problematic, and he almost lost control of the airplane during takeoff. During a subsequent approach for landing, the instructor flew the airplane a little low and fast. Upon touchdown the airplane veered to the right with the right edge of the runway well under the right wing. The instructor applied left rudder while pulling the nose up. The stall warning buzzer activated, and the instructor lowered the nose abruptly, striking the runway with the nose wheel. The airplane bounced and veered off the runway. A professional pilot, who witnessed the accident airplane's final approach, reported that the approach looked unusual and was not stabilized. The airplane appeared to dive toward the runway and was descending fast. The wings rocked and the airplane yawed. The airplane contacted the runway with its nose and right main wheels first. It then bounced about 20 feet into the air and yawed right. Then it yawed left and contacted the runway with its left main wheel and nose wheel. It bounced again and continued turning left. The airplane contacted the ground for the third and last time while in a left wing low attitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.