| Crash location | 42.665278°N, 83.418611°W |
| Nearest city | Pontiac, MI
42.638922°N, 83.291047°W 6.7 miles away |
| Tail number | N757GL |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 02 Sep 2003 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna 152 |
| Additional details: | None |
On September 2, 2003, at 1506 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N757GL, piloted by a student pilot, sustained substantial damage when the nose landing gear collapsed while landing on runway 9L (5,000 feet by 100 feet, asphalt) at the Oakland County International Airport (PTK), Pontiac, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The solo-instructional flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The local flight originated from PTK at 1320.
According to the student pilot's written statement, he was practicing landings on runway 9L, and upon touchdown during the second landing attempt, the airplane "bounced into the air". The pilot stated the airplane settled back to the runway and the nose landing gear touched down prior to the main landing gear. The pilot reported that the nose landing gear "folded and the aircraft veered to the left edge of the runway and then to the right[,] stopping in the middle of the runway."
The student pilot reported his total flight time was 179 hours, of which 52 hours were as pilot-in-command. The pilot had flown 22 hours during the previous 90 days and 14 hours during the previous 30 days. Besides the accident flight, the pilot had not flown during the previous 24 hours.
The PTK automated surface observing system (ASOS) recorded the following information:
At 1453: Wind 060 degrees true at 6 knots gusting to 15 knots; 10 statute mile visibility; few clouds at 4,000 feet above ground level (agl), scattered clouds at 9,000 feet agl; temperature 24 degrees Celsius; dew point of 11 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.12 inches of mercury.
At 1532: Wind 120 degrees true at 7 knots, wind direction variable between 100 and 160 degrees; 10 statute mile visibility; scattered clouds at 4,000 feet agl, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet agl; temperature 24 degrees Celsius; dew point of 11 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.10 inches of mercury.
The student pilot's inadequate recovery from the bounced landing. Factors contributing to the accident were the variable crosswind, the misjudged flare that resulted in the bounced landing and the subsequent collapse of the nose landing gear.