Reigle Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Palmyra, Pennsylvania 17078
Monday, October 8, 2007 17:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The certificated flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot of the Cessna 150M completed at least three touch-and-go circuits at another airport before returning to the accident airport. The airplane flew the complete left hand traffic pattern, and the pilots intended to make a full stop landing on runway 31, a 1,950-foot-long, 40-feet wide, asphalt runway. The flaps were set to the maximum extension of 40 degrees. According to the CFI, the airspeed was "a little high" on the final approach leg. The airplane floated, touched down "hard," and then bounced back into the air. The airplane touched down a second time, exited the runway to the left, and struck a cornfield located approximately 150 feet from the runway edge. On impact with the cornfield, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over. Both pilots were uninjured, and exited through the window on the right (co-pilot) side of the airplane. The recorded weather at an airport approximately 12 miles east of the accident site, about the time of the accident, showed winds from 260 to 280 degrees, at 5 to 7 knots. The temperature was approximately 31 degrees Celsius, with a dew point of 18 degrees Celsius. The CFI had approximately 720 hours of total flight experience, and the student pilot had approximately 30 hours of total flight experience. After the accident, the CFI reported that the accident could probably have been avoided if a go-around had been initiated early in the sequence.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing, and the CFI's failure to take remedial action.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/8/2007
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Palmyra
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 17078
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 401727N
Event Location Longitude 0763465W
Event Location Airport Reigle Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 58N
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1756 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID cxy
Elevation of weather observation facility 347
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.87
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23233
NTSB Notification Source Eastern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2008 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Harrisburg, PA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6252K
NTSB Number NYC08CA010
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 150M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15077609
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3038
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Reigle Aviation
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1805 S Forge St
Aircraft Owner City Palmyra
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 17078
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Reigle Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Palmyra
Operator State PA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 17078
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 9D4
Departure City Myerstown
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 58N
Destination City Palmyra
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 5 2008 5:08PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 1950
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --