Event WPR19TA142

Factual narrative

On April 30, 2019, about 1850 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Zenith CH701 airplane, N396PH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Marion, Virginia. The noncertificated pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he had purchased the airplane in January with the intent of obtaining his sport pilot certificate and had flown it to his home airport. The pilot stated that, on the day of the accident, he decided to fly the airplane around the airport traffic pattern "to see how it did." The accident flight was his second flight in the airplane. While landing on runway 26, the airplane descended rapidly from about 15 ft above ground level (agl), landed hard, and bounced. The pilot applied full throttle; however, as the airplane climbed through about 20 ft agl, it dropped rapidly a second time and landed hard. The right main landing gear wheel assembly separated, and the airplane veered to the right before it came to rest upright on the edge of the runway. The fuselage and left wing were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that he began learning to fly in 2001 and accumulated about 60 total hours of flight experience. He did not complete his training, nor had he flown an airplane since that time, until he purchased the accident airplane. The noncertificated pilot had purchased the airplane about 3 months before the accident and was flying the airplane for the second time. During landing, the airplane descended rapidly from about 15 ft above ground level (agl), landed hard, and bounced back into the air. The pilot added full power; however, as the airplane climbed through about 20 ft agl, it dropped rapidly a second time and landed hard. The right main landing gear wheel assembly separated, and the airplane veered to the right before it came to rest upright on the edge of the runway, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had obtained some flight training about 18 years before the accident in a different airplane make and model. He did not obtain a certificate and had not flown since then until purchasing the accident airplane. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot’s failure to maintain control during a bounced landing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
• C Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Total experience-Pilot
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot