Undetermined · NTSB CEN13LA237
ALON A2 — Greenbrier, AR
| Date | April 22, 2013 |
| Location | Greenbrier, AR |
| Aircraft | ALON A2 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Landing Abnormal runway contact |
| Pilot age | 81 |
| Pilot total time | 1,910 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | 10 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Incorrect use/operation - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Recent experience-Pilot - F
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Workload management-Task overload-Pilot - F
- Environmental issues-Operating environment-Airport facilities/design-(general)-Effect on operation - F
What happened
According to a friend, the pilot had not flown regularly for about 20 years. However, the pilot had recently purchased an airplane and passed a biennial flight review. The flight instructor who conducted the flight review recommended to the pilot that he obtain additional flight instruction. The accident pilot then departed the location of the review to ferry the airplane to his home. A witness reported that, once the pilot reached the destination airport, the first two landing attempts were unstable, and the pilot initiated go-arounds each time. During the third landing, the airplane bounced and began to porpoise, and it then departed the left side of the runway and impacted a culvert. The pilot initiated a third go-around, during which, the airplane struck a tree and impacted terrain. A 131-foot ridge was located about 1,000 feet ahead of the approach end of the runway. Further, the runway was relatively narrow (about 40 feet) with a downslope. The combination of these factors created a challenging runway environment. It is likely that the pilot did not properly flare the airplane and then recover from the bounced landing due to his limited recent flying experience and proficiency.