Stoddard Hamilton GLASAIR II N505YR

Summary

On 27 October 2018 at about 00:40 local time, a Stoddard Hamilton GLASAIR II registered N505YR was involved in an accident near Laramie, Wyoming, 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

27 October 2018 at 00:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Laramie, Wyoming, United States

Nearest airport

Laramie Rgnl (LAR)

Coordinates

41.3203, -105.6703

Aircraft

Stoddard Hamilton GLASAIR II

Registration

N505YR

Category

Airplane

Year built

1995

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hereford → Laramie

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA044

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper pitch attitude during landing at night, which resulted in a porpoised landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot-rated owner reported that, after purchasing the airplane and receiving initial training the day before and the morning of the accident, he and a pilot-rated friend departed for a cross-country flight to their home airport. He added that, after nearly 9 hours of flying, the pilot-rated friend, who was manipulating the flight controls, offered to land at the destination airport because he had landed there before. The horizon was becoming dark, and they attempted to adjust the panel lights for the instruments but realized that the lights were not functioning, so the owner used a flashlight to illuminate the instruments for the landing. During the landing, the nose landing gear contacted the ground first, and the airplane porpoised. The second bounce was more severe, so the pilot initiated a go-around to no avail. The owner added that, during the third bounce, the airplane exited the runway to the left and then came to rest nose down. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount and fuselage. The owner reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airport’s automated weather observation system reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 270° at 11 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 30.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.