Connellsville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania 15456
Saturday, August 30, 2003 19:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot had performed 2 takeoffs and landings with no problems. On the third takeoff, after becoming airborne, she thought the airplane was not accelerating as she expected. She lowered the nose and still did not see the acceleration she expected. She said the airspeed was near 60 knots, and as the airplane neared mid-field, she decided to abort the takeoff and retarded the throttle. The airplane hit hard and bounced into the air. She then pushed the control yoke forward and the airplane contacted the runway in a nose low attitude. The nose landing gear collapsed rearward, and a fire developed in the engine compartment as the airplane slid. When the airplane came to rest, the student pilot exited the airplane. A witness reported hearing a "pop" after he observed the airplane level off. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector did not find any evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper bounced landing recovery. A factor was the pilot's inadequate flare during the initial touchdown.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/30/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1910
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Lemont Furnace
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 15456
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 395730N
Event Location Longitude 0793924W
Event Location Airport Connellsville Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID VVS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 14746
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern Region Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 5 2004 4:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5628T
NTSB Number NYC03CA185
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1751628
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert E. Reinhold
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Lisa F. Reinhold
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Connellsville
Operator State PA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code VVS
Departure City CONNELLSVILLE
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1910
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code VVS
Destination City CONNELLSVILLE
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 7 2003 12:27PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 05
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --