Casa Grande Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Casa Grande, Arizona 85222
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 10:40 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during the landing flare with full flaps selected, the airplane landed hard and bounced back into the air. The pilot attempted to abort the landing by applying full power and retracting the flaps in an effort to regain airspeed. The pilot stated that he was unable to regain airspeed and kept the wings level until the airplane landed adjacent to the runway. Subsequently, the airplane struck a dirt berm and came to rest nose low. Examination of the airplane revealed that the right wing was structurally damaged. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot operating handbook for the make/model of the accident airplane outlines a procedure for balked landings. The procedure states that the throttle should be placed full forward, the trim set as required, and flaps positioned to one-half and then retracted when operating above 80 miles per hour and 100 feet above ground level.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to follow specified procedures for an aborted landing and loss of control during the attempt.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/24/2012
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1040
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Casa Grande
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85222
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 325717N
Event Location Longitude 1114600W
Event Location Airport Casa Grande Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CSZ
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 1464
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1035 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID CGZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 1464
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KCGZ 241735Z AUTO 25006KT 10SM CLR 24/04 A29
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) 30813
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 22 2013 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record coln
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N121L
NTSB Number WPR13CA028
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 None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name SPORT PLANE DYNAMICS LLC
Aircraft Model LIGHTNING
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 45
Certified Max Gross Weight 1425
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 2 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 50
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SPORT PLANE DYNAMICS LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City GLENDALE
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85301-2222
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name SPORT PLANE DYNAMICS LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City GLENDALE
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 85301-2222
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 GEU
Departure City Glendale
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CSZ
Destination City Casa Grande
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 28 2012 5:10PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 05
Runway Length 5200
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --