LAX01LA151

Factual narrative

On April 18, 2001, at 1324 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 152, N5377M, made a hard landing at the Chandler, Arizona, airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Sunbird Flight Services, Inc., was operating the airplane under 14 CFR Part 91, and it was rented by the pilot for a local area personal flight. The flight originated from the Chandler Municipal Airport about 1230. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that as he completed his approach to runway 22L, he misjudged his height above the runway and flared too high. The airplane stalled and bounced several times. On the final bounce the nose gear collapsed. A postaccident inspection revealed that the firewall had been damaged. The pilot flared prematurely, resulting in an inadvertent stall and a bounced landing. The airplane bounced several times, and on the final bounce the nose gear collapsed. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12