Indianola Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Indianola, Mississippi 38751
Thursday, May 1, 1997 15:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, it was his first flight in this homebuilt airplane. After taking off, he stated there was a 'heaviness' in the left wing that caused him to turn left. After trying to correct it, he returned to the departure airport. He stated he landed fast to combat the left turning tendency, and after touchdown, veered off the side of the runway. The pilot stated he had no flight hours in the last 90 days. Witnesses state that after a fast approach, the airplane bounced three times on the runway. On the last bounce, the airplane landed on the nose gear. The nose gear collapsed, and the airplane veered off the side of the runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to correctly recover from a bounced landing leading to the collapse of the nose gear. Factors were the pilot's lack of recent flight time and lack of aircraft familiarity.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/1/1997
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City INDIANOLA
Event State MISSISSIPPI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 38751
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport INDIANOLA MUNI AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID IDL
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 170
Airport Elevation 126
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1548 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID GWO
Elevation of weather observation facility 162
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 1259
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 466
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 6 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1054
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:16PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1710E
NTSB Number ATL97LA070
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name EUGENE CLEMENTS
Aircraft Model PULSAR
Aircraft Series Identifier PULSAR
Aircraft Serial Number 171
Certified Max Gross Weight 900
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name EUGENE CLEMENTS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 199 BERMUDA DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City GREENVILLE
Aircraft Owner State MS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 38701
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code IDL
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1455
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 6991
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --