Skip to content

ATL89LA120

1989-04-01 · BOWLING GREEN, Ohio, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 1G0

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE STUDENT PILOT FAILED TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT WHEN HE MISJUDGED THE HEIGHT OF THE LANDING FLARE. THE RECOVERY FROM THE BOUNCED LANDING WAS INADEQUATE AND THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED UPON IMPACT WITH THE RUNWAY.

Factual narrative

DURING HIS THIRD SUPERVISED SOLO FLIGHT, THE STUDENT PILOT WAS REMAINING IN CLOSED TRAFFIC FOR TAKEOFF AND LANDING PRACTICE. ON THE FOURTH LANDING, THE STUDENT REPORTED THAT HE WAS JUST ABOUT READY TO FLARE WHEN HE FELT THE AIRPLANE SINK. HE ADDED POWER AND THE AIRPLANE HIT THE RUNWAY AND BOUNCED. DURING THE SECOND TOUCHDOWN, THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE AIRPLANE SLID TO A STOP ON ITS MAIN GEAR AND NOSE SECTION. THE LOCAL WIND WAS NEARLY ALIGNEDWITH THE RUNWAY AT ABOUT 6 KNOTS. WX DATA LISTED ABOVE WAS FROM AN OBSERVATION AT A WX REPORTING STATION 15 MILES FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ATL89LA120.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.