# Accident 19971218039149A: Cessna 172F, Gonzales, LA, December 18, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 18, 1997, 12:15 local time
- Place: Gonzales, LA
- Airport: Louisiana Regional Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.1714° N, 90.9404° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at LOUISIANA RGNL (REG), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.1714&lon=-90.9404&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8426U, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8426U-1998-04-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172F (registry code 2072414, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172F
- Reported engine: CONT O300D
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,903 total, 272 in this make and model, 108 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98LA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA070) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971218039149A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

STUDENT PILOT AND INSTRU WERE MAKING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS, ACFT LANDED HARD, DAMAGED LEFT WING, GONZALES, LA. (.4)DURING THE DUAL INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT, ON SHORT FINAL FOR THE 4TH TOUCH-AND-GO, THE 'NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT ROTATED DOWNWARD AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROX[IMATELY] 20-30 FEET ABOVE [THE] RUNWAY.'  THE INSTRUCTOR GAVE A VERBAL COMMAND TO 'PULL UP - PULL UP.'  HOWEVER, THE MAIN WHEELS, FOLLOWED BY THE NOSE WHEEL STRUCK THE RUNWAY AND THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED AS THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR TOOK CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT, APPLIED FULL POWER, AND RETRACTED THE FLAPS.  THE AIRCRAFT VEERED UNCONTROLLABLY TO THE LEFT AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE BOUNCED HARD, THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE PITCHED HIGH (15 TO 20 DEGREES), THE AIRPLANE YAWED TO THE LEFT, AND THEN THE AIRPLANE ENTERED A STALL/SPIN AND STRUCK THE GROUND.                    (-23) WHILE PRACTICING TOUCH & GO LANDINGS ON 12/18/97, THE CESSNA 172F WAS SUBJECTED TO A HARD LANDING AT WHICH POINT THE AIRCRAFT ASCENDED WITH A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE TO APPROXIMATELY 60 TO 80 FEET WITH FULL POWER. AT THIS TIME THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO STALL TO THE LEFT & DESCEND BACK TO THE GROUND. TH                                       E LEFT WING TIP HIT THE GROUND FIRST & DRAGGED 25 FT. 14.8 FT. LATER THE NOSE IMPACTED THE GROUND AT FULL THROTTLE. AFTER NOSE IMPACT THE AIRCRAFT TRAVELED ANOTHER 15 FT. AND CAME TO A RESTING PLACE ON ITS GEAR.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW98LA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA070), Dec 18, 1997: Cessna 172F (N8426U), Gonzales, LA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The inadvertent stall resulting from the flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed during his delayed recovery from the bounced landing. Factors were the student's failure to maintain the…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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