Renquist George GS-2 SPORTSMAN N552GC

Summary

On 8 August 2024 at about 02:15 local time, a Renquist George GS-2 SPORTSMAN registered N552GC was involved in an accident near Hawthorne, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 August 2024 at 02:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Hawthorne, California, United States

Nearest airport

Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne (KHHR)

Coordinates

33.9228, -118.3353

Aircraft

Renquist George GS-2 SPORTSMAN

Registration

N552GC

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24LA272

1 person had minor injuries.

The flight crew’s failure to maintain airspeed during a short field landing and the instructor’s delayed remediation, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and owner of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that he was performing a short field approach with a flight instructor. During the landing, the instructor took control of the aircraft and pulled the control stick back, to increase the airplane’s pitch, and did not increase engine power. The airspeed decayed and the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall and landed hard. The flight instructor reported that the sport pilot/owner was at the controls during the short field approach, and he had been talking him through the approach. On final approach, the instructor told the pilot to lower the nose and add power. Subsequently, the flight instructor applied full engine power, however, the airplane landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The instructor and the pilot both reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.