Henderson-Oxford Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oxford, North Carolina 27565
Tuesady, May 14, 2013 13:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot was performing a supervised solo flight in the airport traffic pattern. Following an uneventful circuit around the traffic pattern, and while on final approach to the runway, the pilot held the airplane in a nose-low attitude in order to avoid losing airspeed. The pilot then flared the airplane “too late,” and the nose landing gear impacted the runway hard, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical anomalies of the airplane, nor were any discovered during post-accident examination of the airframe.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot’s improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/14/2013
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1300
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Oxford
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 27565
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 352141N
Event Location Longitude 0783145W
Event Location Airport Henderson-Oxford Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HNZ
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 526
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1255 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID HNZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 526
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 --
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.2
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) 31556
NTSB Notification Source FAA SROCC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 12 2013 4:59PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4844H
NTSB Number ERA13CA246
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 152
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15283984
Certified Max Gross Weight 1675
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Feb 7 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 6470
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Empire Aviation
Aircraft Owner Street Address 418 Raleigh St.
Aircraft Owner City Granville
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 27565-3734
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Empire Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 418 Raleigh St.
Operator City Granville
Operator State NC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 27565-3734
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 HNZ
Departure City Oxford
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1255
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code HNZ
Destination City Oxford
Destination State NC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 12 2013 5:00PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 5002
Runway Width 97
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --