Cessna 152 N5101P

Summary

On 29 January 2016 at about 18:00 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N5101P, operated by Riverside Flight Center, was involved in an accident near Durant, Oklahoma, United States. One person was 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

29 January 2016 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Durant, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Durant Rgnl - Eaker Field (DUA)

Coordinates

33.9422, -96.3950

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N5101P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

1

Operator

Riverside Flight Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tulsa → Durant

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA116

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain pitch control during the landing, resulting in a porpoise.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during landing, she reduced the power and after rounding out the airplane "ballooned high." She reported that she relaxed the elevator pressure slightly to hold the airplane in a level attitude, and that the airplane "sank fast and bounced back high several times." The propeller struck the runway, the airplane had a total loss of power, and the nose wheel tire flattened. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot verified that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that the automated weather observing system was reporting wind conditions as 19 knots, gusting to 24 knots from 210 degrees before she entered the airport's airspace. She additionally stated that the crosswind component was more than 11 knots. Approximately five minutes prior to the accident time, the meteorological terminal aviation routine weather report stated wind conditions as 16 knots, gusting to 26 knots from 220 degrees. As a safety recommendation, the pilot stated that she "should have prepared to go around anytime the approach was not as stabilized or try to land with a higher indicated airspeed or only two notches of flaps instead." She additionally discussed a "hazardous attitude" regarding the landing, with "macho – I thought I had landed successfully in gusty winds as strong as this before" and with "impulsivity – I really wanted to land as soon as possible."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.