Cessna 172P N52546

Summary

On 9 March 2003 at about 01:15 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N52546, operated by Francis Michael McLaurin, was involved in an accident near Concord, North Carolina, 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

9 March 2003 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Concord, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Concord Regional (KJQF)

Coordinates

35.3853, -80.7097

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N52546

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Francis Michael McLaurin

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Concord → Concord

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ATL03LA060

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper flare during touchdown and failure to properly recover from a bounced landing, which resulted in a loss of control and inflight collision with the runway. A factor was the pilot did not understand the porpoise condition during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot initiated the landing flare at idle or very low power, and the airplane bounced about four times. Each bounce was higher and more pronounced than the previous one. The pilot stated that he thought the bounces would stop, and he concentrated on keeping the airplane as straight as possible on the runway. After the third or fourth bounce, the nosewheel tire blew, and the propeller struck the ground. The airplane came to a stop in the center of the runway, and the pilot shut down the engine. The pilot stated that, after the accident, he flew with a flight instructor and learned what a porpoise condition is, how to recognize it, and how to recover the airplane from it.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.