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Atlas / NTSB / LAX01LA167

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event LAX01LA167

2001-05-07 Hayward, California, United States Airport · HWD None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

the student pilot's misjudged landing flare and improper use of the elevator control.

Factual narrative

On May 7, 2001, at 1140 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N757XS, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at the Hayward, California, airport. The airplane was operated by Flying Viking, Inc., under the provisions of CFR Part 91, and rented by a student pilot who was not injured. Visual metrological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local instructional flight, which departed about 1115. A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector interviewed the pilot and examined the airplane. The pilot stated he had flown two landing patterns with a certified flight instructor in preparation for his second solo flight. The instructor deplaned and the student made two successful touch-and-go landings prior to the accident. On the third landing the airplane landed hard, bounced, and landed on the nose wheel. The student said that the bounce "was very high and I [tried] to pitch down and let it glide, but the nose wheel touch[ed] down first." The nose wheel was folded back along the underside of the fuselage and the left wingtip struck the runway bending the wing spar. An FAA Inspector interviewed the pilot and examined the airplane. The pilot stated he had flown two landing patterns with a certified flight instructor in preparation for his second solo flight. The instructor deplaned and the student made two successful touch-and-go landings prior to the accident. On the third landing the airplane landed hard, bounced, and landed on the nose wheel. The student said that the bounce "was very high and I [tried] to pitch down and let it glide, but the nose wheel touch[ed] down first." The nose wheel was folded back along the underside of the fuselage and the left wingtip struck the runway bending the wing spar. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2001_LAX01LA167.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.