| Crash location | 37.271667°N, 79.335833°W |
| Nearest city | Forest, VA
37.363753°N, 79.289749°W 6.8 miles away |
| Tail number | N63123 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 08 May 2002 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna 152M |
| Additional details: | None |
On May 8, 2002, about 1830 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152M, N63123, was substantially damaged while landing at the New London Airport (W90), Forest, Virginia. The certificated student pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The student pilot was conducting her second solo flight in the airplane.
During an interview, she said she had completed four uneventful full-stop landings to runway 16, a 3,164-foot long, 40-foot wide, asphalt runway; however, on the fifth landing attempt, she flared high and landed hard. The airplane began to porpoise and then departed the left side of the runway, where it nosed over and came to rest. She further stated that she did not add power, or attempt a go-around during the landing attempt.
The student pilot's flight instructor did not observe the airplane touchdown; however, he observed the airplane "porpoising from the main landing gear, to the nose landing gear." As the airplane departed the runway, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane slowly skidded and flipped over.
The student pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane, and had 32 hours of total flight experience, all in make and model.
The student pilot's improper flare and failure to recover from a bounced landing, which resulted in a nose over.