Plymouth Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 16:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that the intent of the flight was to perform practice takeoffs and landings. During the first takeoff roll, she noticed that the control column required forward pressure to prevent the airplane from prematurely rotating. The pilot further reported that she was not concerned about the controllability of the airplane, elected not to abort the takeoff, and continued around the traffic pattern. During the landing flare, she was unable to pull back on the control column, and the airplane bounced several times. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any discrepancies that would have interfered with movement of the control column or operation of the elevator and elevator trim controls. Additionally, the operator reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal flight operations of the airplane. It is likely that the pilot did not arrest the airplaneā€™s descent rate, resulting in a bounced landing, and then allowed the airplane to porpoise.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/31/2011
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Plymouth
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 02360
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 415432N
Event Location Longitude 0704343W
Event Location Airport Plymouth Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PYM
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 148
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1652 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID TAN
Elevation of weather observation facility 43
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 13
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.15
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29557
NTSB Notification Source FAA NE ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 19 2012 2:13PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N739RU
NTSB Number ERA11LA489
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 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17270752
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jul 21 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2692
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name BOROWSKI MATTHEW M
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City YARMOUTH PORT
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 02675-2426
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Alpha One Flight Service
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Plymouth
Operator State MA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 02360
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PYM
Departure City Plymouth
Departure State MA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PYM
Destination City Plymouth
Destination State MA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 19 2012 2:13PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 06
Runway Length 4350
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --