Primary finding
Probable cause
a misjudged flare and subsequent hard landing by the student pilot. A factor in the accident was the student pilot's failure to perform a go-around.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot reported a gust of wind caught the airplane during the landing flare, causing the airplane to balloon. She said the airplane subsequently landed hard on the main landing gear and nosewheel and bounced into the air. The airplane bounced on the runway surface two more times before exiting the runway and coming to rest. The pilot said the accident could have been avoided if she had performed a go-around.
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 30, 1993, about 1540 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28- 161, N2816A, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at the Eagle Creek Airport, Indianapolis, Indiana. The solo student pilot received no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight which operated under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot related she was attempting to land on runway 21 when a head wind gust caused the airplane to balloon during the landing flare. The airplane subsequently contacted the runway hard on the main and nosewheel landing gear, bounced into the air and porpoised. The airplane bounced two more times on the runway surface before it veered off the runway and came to rest. In the Recommendation section of the NTSB Accident Report that the pilot submitted, she wrote that the accident could have been prevented by doing a go around. -