# Accident 19980929026939A: Cessna 172N, Gallup, NM, September 29, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 29, 1998, 10:15 local time - Place: Gallup, NM - Airport: Gallup Municipal Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.5126° N, 108.7850° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.5126&lon=-108.7850&mi=10 - Aircraft: N739JT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N739JT-2013-06-10) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N - Reported engine: LYC O320H2AD - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 243 total, 2 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98LA417](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA417) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980929026939A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT BOUNCED SEVERAL TIMES ON LANDING. THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED, AND THE ACFT RAN OFF THE RWY. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 29, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1015 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 172N, N79JT, OPERATED BY JSR ENTERPRISES, INC., WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A HARD LANDING AND SUBSEQUENT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN WHILE LANDING AT GALLUP MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, GALLUP, NEW MEXICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED IN FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA, AT AN UNKNOWN TIME. THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS ON A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT TO SATISFY A PORTION OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE. A WITNESS TOLD AN FAA INSPECTOR THAT HE OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE WHEN IT WAS 200 FEET OVER THE THRESHOLD FOR RUNWAY 24. IT WAS IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE AND APPEARED TO BE GOING "A LITTLE FAST." THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN, "BOUNCED REPEATEDLY," AND DEPARTED THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. THE NOSE GEAR WAS BENT AFT AND THE FIREWALL WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED. PROPELLER STRIKE MARKS WERE NOTED IN THE RUNWAY ASPHALT. (.4)ON SEPTEMBER 29, 1998, APPROXIMA TELY 1015 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 172N, N739JT, REGISTERED TO JSR ENTERPRISES AND OPERATED BY AKIH AIR, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING LANDING AT GALLUP MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, GALLUP, NEW MEXICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITION PREVAILED AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CR4 PART 91. THE FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED IN FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA, AT 0905. THE PILOT, A NEPALESE NATIONAL, WAS ON A CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT TO SATISFY A PORTION OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A U.S. COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE. IN HIS ACCIDENT REPORT, HE SAID THAT WHEN HE TURNED ONTO FINAL APPROACH FOR RUNWAY 24 (7,312 FT X 150 FT, ASPHALT), HE HAD TO INCREASE HIS CRAB ANGLE TO COMPENSATE FOR A CROSSWIND HE ESTIMATED TO BE GREATER THAN 10 KNOTS. HE ALSO ADDED POWER TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED. AS HE GOT CLOSER TO THE RUNWAY, HE NOTICED HIS AIRSPEED WAS 71 KNOTS INSTEAD OF 65 KNOTS, SO HE REDUCED POWER TO IDLE. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN HARD AND BOUNCED TWICE. ON THE THIRD BOUNCE, THE NOSE WHEEL WENT "FLAT" AND BROKE. A WITNESS TOLD AN FAA INSPECTOR HE OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE WHEN IT WAS 200 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD. HE SAID IT WAS IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE AND APPEARED TO BE GOING "VERY FAST." HE SAID THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN, "BOUNCED REPEATEDLY, "THEN DEPARTED THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY." A GALLUP FLYING SERVICE SPOKESPERSON TOLD THE FAA INSPECTOR THEY INSPECTED THE AIRPLANE AND FOUND THE NOSE GEAR BENT AFT, A DAMAGED FIREWALL, AND A BROKEN REAR TIE DOWN RING. PROPELLER STRIKE MARKS WERE ALSO FOUND ON THE RUNWAY. (-23) ON SEPT. 29, 1998, AT 10:15 MDT, A CESSNA 172-N, N739JT, REGISTERED TO JSR ENTERPRISES INC., WENT OFF THE RUNWAY AFTER THE PILOT LOST CONTROL WHILE LANDING AT GALLUP MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, GALLUP, NM, DURING A TRAINING FLIGHT. THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED REPEATEDLY DURING THE LANDING, THE NOSE GEAR FAILED, THE PROPELLER STRUCK THE GROUND, AND THE AIRCRAFT SKIDDED OFF THE RUNWAY. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED BUT THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS UNINJURED. THE FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED AT GALLUP WITH TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS AT WINSLOW AND FLAGSTAFF, AZ. THE FLIGHT WAS SUPPOSED TO END AT ALBUQUERQUE, NM, WHERE THE PILOT CURRENTLY RESIDES. ## 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 FTW98LA417](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA417), Sep 29, 1998: Cessna 172N (N739JT), Gallup, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate landing flare. Factors were his misjudgement of altitude and his excessive airspeed. ## Other reports on N739JT (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19800210002469A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800210002469A), Feb 10, 1980: Cessna 172N (N739JT), Albuquerque, NM, Substantial damage. Long fast downwind landing, made delayed go around, overrotated. Aircraft tail hit ground. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.