ATL94LA167

Factual narrative

On August 27, 1994, at 1329 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N94194, was substantially damaged when the nose gear collapsed after a hard landing at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, in West Columbia, South Carolina. The student pilot was not injured. The aircraft was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by the North American Institute of Aviation of Conway, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the solo- instructional flight. The flight originated at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, at 1220. The pilot reported the following: He was landing at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, with a final approach speed of 60 to 65 knots, with 30 degrees of flaps extended. The approach was normal until the flare and touchdown. The main gear touched down first, immediately followed by the nose gear. The nose gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a stop. The landing was hard enough to activate the emergency locator transmitter. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction or failure with the aircraft during the accident flight. An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration examined the aircraft, and reported that the airframe was structurally damaged. THE SOLO STUDENT PILOT WAS LANDING THE AIRPLANE ON A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT. THE APPROACH WAS NORMAL UNTIL THE FLARE AND TOUCHDOWN. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED HARD, WITH THE NOSE WHEEL TOUCHING DOWN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE MAINS. THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED, AND THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. THE LANDING WAS HARD ENOUGH TO ACTIVATE THE EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER. THE PILOT HAD LOGGED ABOUT 61 HOURS TOTAL TIME, INCLUDING 20 HOURS SOLO. HE REPORTED NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRCRAFT DURING THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12