Mountain Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cleveland, Georgia 30528
Friday, September 5, 2008 20:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The non-certificated pilot and his passenger took off from the turf strip in the experimental light sport Quicksilver MXL II, and flew for a short time before returning for a landing. The airplane touched down normally, and the pilot intentionally lifted off again. The pilot climbed to an altitude of approximately 50 feet above the runway, where he pitched the nose down to land again. The airplane attitude and flight path was "too steep to flare," and the pilot was unable to prevent the airplane from impacting the runway, which resulted in substantial airplane damage. The tubular frame of the airplane was fractured and bent in multiple locations. The pilot, seated in the left seat, was uninjured. His passenger, seated in the right seat, incurred serious injuries. The winds were calm, and daylight conditions existed at the time of the accident. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems on the accident flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper approach to the runway resulting in his being unable to flare prior to a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/5/2008
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2000
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Cleveland
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 30528
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 343343N
Event Location Longitude 0834249W
Event Location Airport Mountain Airpark
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 0GE5
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 1438
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1953 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 210
Weather Observation Facility ID PDK
Elevation of weather observation facility 1001
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 40
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
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) 29.84
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24520
NTSB Notification Source SROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2008 1:31PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6152N
NTSB Number NYC08CA304
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Quicksilver
Aircraft Model MXL II
Aircraft Series Identifier Sport
Aircraft Serial Number 240
Certified Max Gross Weight 720
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Oct 7 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 40
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Ronnie D Gunn
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Cleveland
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30528
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Ronnie D Gunn
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Cleveland
Operator State GA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 30528
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 0GE5
Departure City Cleveland
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1930
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 0GE5
Destination City Cleveland
Destination State GA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2008 1:31PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 2500
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --