Cessna 152 N152LT

Summary

On 27 July 2018 at about 18:30 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N152LT, operated by Regal Air, was involved in an accident near Oak Harbor, Washington, 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

27 July 2018 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Oak Harbor, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Aj Eisenberg (OKH)

Coordinates

48.2517, -122.6736

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N152LT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

1

Operator

Regal Air

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oak Harbor → Oak Harbor

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA461

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the student pilot, his first solo flight was conducted at an airport that he was not familiar with and he was "very nervous." Although his flight instructor had a hand-held two-way radio to communicate with the student, the instructor's two-way radio malfunctioned, and the student was not able to communicate with the instructor during the flight in the traffic pattern. On final, the student noticed that the airplane was "getting too low, too fast and I added power." When he felt the landing was assured, he reduced the power, and the airplane bounced. He added that the airplane bounced again and, "I knew something was up but at the moment I froze." The nose landing gear wheel struck the runway hard and separated from the airplane, and it then skidded to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts and the right wing. The instructor reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had provided more training to address the changes in performance given that he weighed 235 lbs and that he was not occupying the right front seat during the solo flight. The student reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.    

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.