Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing, resulting in a nose-over.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
According to the pilot, he was conducting a short-field landing as part of a Federal Aviation Administration Part 137 agricultural certification flight. He reported that as he approached runway 36, his airspeed and altitude were appropriate. Upon initial contact with the runway, the airplane bounced and the pilot corrected the airplane pitch to slightly nose-down and continued the landing sequence. After contacting the runway again, the airplane entered an excessive nose-down attitude, which the pilot tried to correct by pulling aft on the flight controls. The airplane continued to nose over and came to rest inverted, substantially damaging the empennage, forward fuselage, and wings. The pilot did not report any mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane. He noted that his total flight experience was approximately 374 hours; of which, about 25 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The winds reported at an airport 20 miles northwest of the accident location, about the time of the accident, were calm.
Source record
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, he was conducting a short-field landing as part of a Federal Aviation Administration Part 137 agricultural certification flight. He reported that as he approached runway 36, his airspeed and altitude were appropriate. Upon initial contact with the runway, the airplane bounced and the pilot corrected the airplane pitch to slightly nose-down and continued the landing sequence. After contacting the runway again, the airplane entered an excessive nose-down attitude, which the pilot tried to correct by pulling aft on the flight controls. The airplane continued to nose over and came to rest inverted, substantially damaging the empennage, forward fuselage, and wings. The pilot did not report any mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane. He noted that his total flight experience was approximately 374 hours; of which, about 25 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The winds reported at an airport 20 miles northwest of the accident location, about the time of the accident, were calm.