Plymouth Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360
Thursday, October 18, 2012 11:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during the final approach he increased the airplaneā€™s airspeed from 65 to 70 mph to compensate for light windshear. Upon touchdown, the airplane bounced twice, and the pilot increased engine power slightly to allow the airplane to settle on the main landing gear. After it settled, the nose landing gear collapsed, substantially damaging the firewall. The airplane came to rest upright on the runway. The pilot surmised that the second bounce must have separated the nose landing gear. A witness to the accident, who was a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, stated that the nose landing gear touched down first, followed by bounces with two or three more nosegear touchdowns, before the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest. The recorded wind at the airport about the time of the accident indicated a left crosswind at 8 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

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

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/18/2012
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1140
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Plymouth
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 02360
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 415432N
Event Location Longitude 0704344W
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 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 148
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1152 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID PYM
Elevation of weather observation facility 148
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2900
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
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) 30.1
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) 30973
NTSB Notification Source Boston FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 4 2013 11:58AM
User who most recently changed record gots
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N555HT
NTSB Number ERA13CA047
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 DANIELS ALAN L
Aircraft Model KITFOX SERIES 7
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number S60111-076
Certified Max Gross Weight 1320
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Sep 26 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours 790
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name SHANNON KEVIN J
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WEYMOUTH
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 02188-1920
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name SHANNON KEVIN J
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City WEYMOUTH
Operator State MA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 02188-1920
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 PYM
Departure City Plymouth
Departure State MA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
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 Feb 4 2013 12:00PM
User who most recently changed record gots
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 4350
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --