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LAX93LA304

1993-07-28 · SAN CARLOS, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SQL

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE CFI'S INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF THE FLIGHT, THE IMPROPER RECOVERY FROM THE BOUNCED LANDING BY THE CREW, AND THE LACK OF TOTAL EXPERIENCE IN GIVING DUAL INSTRUCTION BY THE CFI. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ACCIDENT WERE: THE DUAL STUDENT'S IMPROPER USE OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS, THE CFI'S FAILURE TO ISSUE PROCEDURES/DIRECTIVES TO THE STUDENT, AND THE CFI'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE.

Factual narrative

DURING THE LANDING PHASE OF A TRAINING FLIGHT, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO SINK RAPIDLY. THE STUDENT PILOT PUSHED FORWARD ON THE ELEVATOR WHICH RESULTED IN A HARD LANDING. DURING THE RECOVERY FROM THE BOUNCED LANDING THE CFI TOOK THE CONTROLS TO CUSHION THE NEXT LANDING. THE CFI SAID SHE DID NOT TELL THE STUDENT SHE HAD THE CONTROLS, THUS IN THE CONFUSION, THE STUDENT PILOT ADDED POWER AND INITIATED A GO-AROUND. THE CFI CONCURRED BUT THE AIRPLANE WAS STILL BOUNCING, AND THE LEFT MAIN WHEEL WAS OFF THE RUNWAY. THE AIRPLANE FAILED TO BECOME AIRBORNE DUE TO THE FLAPS STILL BEING SET AT 30 DEGREES. THE CFI THEN DECIDED TO ABORT THE GO-AROUND. THE CFI SAID SHE NOTICED THE FLAP SETTING ABOUT 1/2 WAY DOWN THE RUNWAY. THE CFI ADDED FULL BRAKES AND THE AIRPLANE LEFT THE RUNWAY AND NOSED OVER IN A DITCH. THE CFI HAD 65 TOTAL HOURS OF FLIGHT INSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_LAX93LA304.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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