Zenair CH 2000 accident near Tooele, Utah, April 22, 2006
On April 22, 2006 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Zenair CH 2000, registered N8503J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tooele, Utah (Bolinder Field - Tooele Valley). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student pilot during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing flare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 22, 2006 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Tooele, Utah · Bolinder Field - Tooele Valley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Zenair CH 2000
- Registration
- N8503J · registry record · serial 20-0063
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the flight instructor, the airplane touched down on the main landing gear and bounced. He added "power to help soften the landing," and at this point, the student "released his grip on the flight controls, causing the nose of the aircraft to pitch up dramatically. Almost immediately after the initial upward pitch, the aircraft dropped down hard on the nose wheel, which broke off." The airplane slid off the right side of the runway, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a stop nose down. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported that the firewall was damaged.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 395 hours in all; 237 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 12 hours in all; 12 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-N2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SLC Salt Lake City UT
- Destination: TVY Tooele UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N8503J the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.