Scottish Aviation Bulldog 120 N416JA accident near Truckee, California

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusting crosswind and misjudged landing flare.

NTSB analysis

The airplane's owner accompanied the pilot, who had received his private pilot certificate about 2 months before the accident, on a personal flight involving takeoffs and landings. The pilot reported that his approach for the final landing appeared normal. Just before landing he felt a possible wind lull or wind direction shift near the runway's surface, and the airplane touched down harder than average. The airplane's owner reported that the airplane touched down hard in a nose low and right wing low attitude. Immediately thereafter, the right main landing gear separated from the airplane. A subsequent airframe examination by the Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector revealed the nose gear and right main landing gear were damaged in the accident to the extent that the nose gear attachment bracket was broken at the upper firewall attachment, and the right main landing gear attachment was torn from the wing spar web, fracturing the wing spar. The weather observation for the airport was showing winds from 220 degrees at 12 knots, with gusts to 17 knots, at the time of the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for LAX08CA170 for the full record.