NTSB Factual Report

On July 31, 2013, at 1400 central daylight time, a Cessna model 140 airplane, N2745N, was substantially damaged while landing on a private airstrip near Jonesboro, Arkansas. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, without a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight, which departed the private airstrip about 1330.

The pilot reported that after a brief local flight he returned to the private airstrip to land on runway 18 (1,825 feet by 21 feet, asphalt). The airplane bounced upon landing and encountered a wind gust when it ascended above the corn crop that bordered the runway. The pilot aborted the landing attempt after he was unable to regain control of the airplane with enough runway remaining to ensure a safe landing; however, the airplane collided with a chain-link fence and a soybean field located at the end of the airstrip. The fuselage and left wing were damaged during the accident. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Additionally, he stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had discontinued the landing attempt immediately after the bounced landing.

The nearest aviation weather reporting station was located at Jonesboro Municipal Airport (KJBR), Jonesboro, Arkansas, about 6 miles west of the accident site. At 1343, the KJBR automated surface observing system reported: wind from 280 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 10 miles, few clouds at 2,500 feet above ground level (agl) and scattered clouds at 3,600 feet agl, temperature 32 degrees Celsius, dew point 24 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.97 inches of mercury.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's improper flare and recovery from a bounced landing and his delay in performing an aborted landing.