Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: Montrose, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The airplane bounced upon touchdown. Instead of initiating a go-around, the pilot continued with the landing, believing that the airplane would settle to the runway without further incident. The airplane landed hard and bounced for a second time. The pilot responded with a small increase in engine power in an attempt to regain control, but the airplane continued to porpoise. The nosewheel was damaged and the airplane came to rest on the side of the runway in a nose-down attitude.
Probable cause: The pilot’s improper landing flare and inadequate recovery from a bounced landing.
NTSB Identification: CEN12LA493
This July 2012 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
The down side to Cessna style metal landing gear is that it is a big spring with no damping, i.e. what energy goes in will come back out. An oleo type strut has damping built into it so would be less prone to such an incident. Still for a high wing aircraft there are not a lot of options for landing gear designs and this style is used on an increasing number of low wing designs espically in the LSA world. Just something to keep in mind with regards to landing the aircraft and what potential problems await. So if it is spring gear and you get a bounce, better to fly it away rather then assume it will just settle out on the next touchdown.
But what about the patented “Land-O-Matic” landing gear. It makes “flying like driving!”, or so said the advertising. This is basic flying that is not common anymore, use the throttle and fly it all the way to the ground, don’t just be a passenger.
The first bounce wasn’t tragic,
The second one was bad,
Response was somewhat lethargic,
Bent the airplane it’s so very sad.