Event LAX08CA012

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that she planned to flare for landing about 1/5 of the way down the runway; however, the airplane encountered the runway earlier than expected, landed hard, and bounced back into the air. The pilot decided to continue the landing as she was afraid that if she aborted the landing, the airplane would not clear the trees at the end of the runway. The second bounce was "very violent"; she found out later that the propeller blades had struck the runway. The pilot maintained direction control of the airplane as it bounced again. At that point she realized she needed to stop the engine, and "cut the mixture." Simultaneously as she reduced the mixture, the airplane bounced for the last time. The pilot stated that the runway edge lights provided the necessary information to maintain runway centerline while on final approach. While on short final, she lost sight of the runway. The combination of not being able to see the pavement, the night illusion involved with a narrow runway, and upsloping terrain, led her to believe that the airplane's altitude was higher than it was. According to the Airport/Facility Directory, Stark's Twin Oaks Airpark, runway 02's length is 2,465 feet by 48 feet in width. The airplane hit the runway earlier than the pilot expected. The touchdown was hard and the airplane bounced several times down the runway, striking the propeller blades on the runway before coming to rest upright on the pavement. The pilot indicated that the night conditions, narrow runway width, and the upsloping terrain, led her to believe that the airplane was higher than it actually was (night optical illusion). She was setting up to flare for landing when the airplane hit the runway hard, and bounced down the runway. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12