Accident Analysis

Watch that flare

First solos normally are a fun ritual. It's a nice spring day, you're flying well enough to let it happen, and milestones are a cause for celebration on the road to earning a pilot certificate. There isn't as much surprise in a first solo as there used to be because the paper trail that leads to solo takes away much of the old spontaneity. But the actual moment can still take you by surprise, adding drama to a giddy tradition that, usually, yields a memory to cherish forever.

Speaking of surprises, the last thing anyone wants on a first solo is a surprise during the flight (see "Learning Experiences: Continue or Stop?" p. 45). When the student's feet are pressing rudder pedals and the instructor's feet are pressing earth, predictability is what everyone is hoping for. No sudden wind changes, no surprise arrival in the pattern of a flight of military jets. The typical recipe for a first solo, although by no means a required formula, is for the student to fly a few circuits of the traffic pattern (three seems to be the magic number), each completed by a full-stop landing. Lots of recent dual practice, at an intensity level far beyond anything to be encountered on the solo, also helps to keep the ritual simple. A brief but well-flown session of various dual takeoffs and landings immediately before the student is sent solo then seals the deal. This recipe is a winner most of the time, if the student has consistently shown mastery of the basic flying skills. When something does go wrong, that trickiest of early skills to learn--the process of rounding out, flaring, and touching down correctly--is often the spoiler. The good news is that accidents in this realm of flight, while instructive, seldom result in serious injuries. Two examples will suffice to represent the category as a whole. Another is offered to show that student pilots are not the only vulnerable parties.

Watch a certificated flight instructor who is observing a student he or she has just dispatched on a first solo. The CFI wants to get a good look at the flying--especially the approach and landing--but doesn't want to be a distraction. This too is a ritual. Some instructors position themselves alongside the runway. Others stand on the ramp. Some carry handheld radios in case advice needs to be given. When possible I like to use a parked aircraft from the FBO's fleet as a command post, monitoring the proceedings on one of the airplane's radios.

No matter how it's done, the CFI should be fully focused on the soloing student. If someone wanders over to chat, it's OK to exchange pleasantries, but the CFI can't lose sight of that aircraft or miss any radio traffic. There's an obligation to be fully, reassuringly present--how else can he analyze the proceedings and intervene in any tricky situations that arise? Unfortunately there are airports where the layout, or security requirements, preclude a good look.

The solo environment matters. If there's a more suitable airport nearby, consider staging those first few solos from there, after a suitable period of dual familiarization. In AOPA Online's Aviation Forum, a flight instructor recently celebrated a double first solo of sorts: It was his student's first solo, and it was the CFI's first time sending a student solo. The CFI seemed to have thought out the process commendably. "We went over to another larger airport with less traffic and a bit more favorable winds, so he'd have more room for error and less pressure than having 25 people sitting on the deck watching him. He actually did better with me out of the cockpit than in."

Well done! This preparation acknowledges that even a student pilot who has drilled extensively before solo may have his decision making during that first solo flight impeded by a sense of urgency about making a good landing, or the just-plain-nervousness that most solo students feel. Instructors should thoroughly impress upon student pilots that a go-around is no mark of shame; actually quite the reverse, as reinforced in all the prior training. At the very least, how to avoid and correct fundamental errors safely should no longer be a concern when solo day comes. The reminder to stay mentally flexible is important because the desired familiarity will be absent in terms of performance: That empty right seat will change the way the aircraft flies. For instance, the absence of a 200-pound CFI from a Cessna 150 that maxes out at 1,600 pounds reduces the loaded weight by 12.5 percent. Flight characteristics change accordingly.

Small stuff to sweat? Lest a flight instructor or more veteran pilot forget what it was like in those early days, the words of a presolo student in another posting to the AOPA Aviation Forum recall what is being asked of a student pilot when landings are being mastered before solo: "Started my (flare) a bit early resulting in some float and a rather firm arrival when it did settle, but no bounce and nothing really dangerous. Landing is still far from a no-brainer, and things still seem to happen rather fast, especially starting at about roundout height, but it's much less absurdly difficult than it was."

The lesson is clear, as multiple accident accounts of this type prove. Watch that flare during landings! How a pilot consistently carries off that phase of a landing approach shows whether he truly gets it about how to manage the transition from airborne to ground borne. Few good landings are accidental. They show ability and understanding of all the necessary elements: arriving at the correct speed, leveling off with idle power during the roundout while exploiting ground effect, then decelerating to touchdown speed while gently descending the last few inches to the runway with skillful application of back-pressure--nice. If a minor control-input error needs correcting while this is going on, that's even nicer. Making that correction shows advanced skills.

It doesn't take much more miscalculation than the landing described above for an arrival to become an accident-report narrative. On April 2, 1999, a first solo was taking place at the Lawrence, Massachusetts, airport in a Cessna 172P. A National Transportation Safety Board accident summary said, "After a dual instructional flight, the student pilot (SP) departed for his first solo flight. The SP was attempting a touch-and-go landing, when the airplane's nosewheel contacted the runway, and the airplane bounced back up into the air. The airplane bounced two to three times, and its propeller struck the runway. The airplane came to rest on the runway.... The SP reported 35 hours of total flight experience, of which 24 hours were in the past 90 days." The probable cause of the accident: "The student pilot's improper flare and his improper recovery from a bounced landing."

A similarly instructive mishap occurred on April 8, 2002, in McKinney, Texas, again in a Cessna 172P. After the 27-hour student pilot and a flight instructor completed approximately 12 landings, the flight instructor exited the airplane. The student pilot then taxied the airplane and departed for his first solo flight. During the third touch-and-go landing, the pilot reported that the airplane "flared more than usual. The pilot added power; however, the nosewheel struck the runway. Subsequently, the airplane bounced on the runway approximately four to six times before coming to a stop."

Probable cause: "The student pilot's failure to properly recover from a bounced landing, which resulted in the airplane porpoising. A contributing factor was the student pilot's improper landing flare which resulted in a bounced landing."

Don't conclude that only student pilots entering the solo phase are vulnerable to having the most difficult flying task rear up and cause problems when the safety net is gone. An Airbus 340 pilot found this out at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport on April 4, 2002, when a hard landing with damage occurred during an attempt to land a single-engine Cessna. According to the NTSB summary, the pilot said, "During flare, blinded momentarily by sunlight, difficulties to judge altitude above runway correctly. Flared too high." The pilot said he kept the nose of the airplane up to protect the nosewheel. He said, "speed bled off...resulting in heavy bumps onto the runway together with stall warning." He had this additional reflection: "I simply landed the airplane too high due to the lighting conditions and my landing picture based on my experience landing an Airbus A340." The pilot also concluded in recommendations he provided that he get more landings "to get the right picture during (the) flare."

Regulations require competence in specific skills before solo is permitted, but an instructor's judgment, ability to evaluate student performance, and flight planning designed to create the best possible environment for solo are what build in the extra margins of safety.

With that point in mind, a word to those students who may fret that their flight hours are building beyond the number considered "normal" with a first solo not yet scheduled: Ask yourself whether the stress of imposing this artificial burden on yourself will erode your performance when solo day does come. Hours truly don't matter. What matters is that when you're alone in the cockpit, a clear, confident mind and a relaxed posture will keep the landings smooth and provide a fond memory to cherish.

Dan Namowitz is an aviation writer and flight instructor. A pilot since 1985 and an instructor since 1990, he resides in Maine.