Pilot Debrief

CLOPTON AERO LLC AEROCOMP COMPAIR 7SL near Merritt Island, FL — 2010-02-08

Final reportERA10CA145
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Date
2010-02-08
Location
Merritt Island, FL, USA
Airport
COI
Aircraft
CLOPTON AERO LLC AEROCOMP COMPAIR 7SL
Registration
N286JL
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing.

NTSB narrative

According to the pilot of the experimental, amateur-built, turboprop airplane, the airplane was configured for landing while on the downwind and base legs for runway 29. During the final approach segment, the airplane was aligned with the runway centerline and airspeed and power were stabilized. At the approach end of the runway, the airplane suddenly dropped, resulting in a hard bounce. Corrections were made and on the second bounce, power was added for a go-around procedure. The engine did not respond to the thrust lever input. The continued bouncing resulted in a loss of directional control and the airplane exited the runway to the left. According to the owner/pilot-rated-passenger, the pilot turned downwind and at base leg, was exceeding the recommended approach speed by 20 knots. Upon turn to final they were approaching the runway “hot.” Airspeed was 80 plus knots and the stall speed for the airplane was 68 to 70 knots. The airplane bounced hard and a go-around was attempted, but was unsuccessful because the turbine spooling was too slow. The airplane exited the runway to the center median with another hard bounce, then with the ensuing crash. The pilot reported that she had accumulated a total time of 15,000 hours; of which, 3.5 hours were in the accident airplane.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have reduced speed earlier to stabilize approach.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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