West Houston Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Houston, Texas 77084
Saturday, May 5, 2012 12:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The sport pilot said that the landing flare was normal until the airplane suddenly touched down sooner than he expected. The airplane then bounced several times, landing nose first. The nose gear buckled, and the airplane slid about 75 feet to the right edge of the runway. The pilot reported that the nose gear and the firewall were both damaged. He also reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane or engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s improper recovery from a bounced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/5/2012
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1215
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Houston
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77084
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 294903N
Event Location Longitude 0954013W
Event Location Airport West Houston
Event Location Nearest Airport ID IWS
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 105
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1200 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID IWS
Elevation of weather observation facility 105
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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) 30019
NTSB Notification Source HIggins Aviation Group, LLC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 2 2012 5:54PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N919LA
NTSB Number CEN12CA281
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name EVEKTOR-AEROTECHNIK AS
Aircraft Model SPORTSTAR PLUS
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20070919
Certified Max Gross Weight 1320
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 Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Jan 28 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1640
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name HIGGINS AVIATION GROUP LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2209 LOOKOUT LN
Aircraft Owner City DENTON
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76207-1021
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name HIGGINS AVIATION GROUP LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 2209 LOOKOUT LN
Operator City DENTON
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 76207-1021
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 No
Departure Airport Code LBX
Departure City Angleton
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1145
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code IWS
Destination City Houston
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 13 2012 12:42PM
User who most recently changed record yeal
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 3900
Runway Width 15
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --