- Date
- July 21, 2001, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ormond Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N448ERCessna 172R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Orlando FSDO-15
- FAA report
- 20010721023249A
- Case key
- 52854
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilots improper flare, and improper recovery from a bounced landing. A factor was the student pilot's lack of total experience.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During the student pilots first solo flight, and on the third landing, the airplane bounced on the runway, nose wheel first. The student reported a wind from the left, followed by a horizontal wind shift into a crosswind from the right. According to the student pilot, she overcompensated for the change in wind direction, distracting her from the landing and resulting in a late flare. The student cited "inexperience" as a factor in her hard landing. The student pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On July 21, 2001, at 1530 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172R, N448ER, registered to BCC Equipment Leasing Corp. and operated by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, impacted the ground during a bounced landing at Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, Ormond Beach, Florida. The instructional (solo) flight was conducted by the student pilot under provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The student pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damaged. The flight originated from Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, Ormond Beach, Florida, at 1515.
According to the student pilot, she and a certified flight instructor (CFI) had flown to a nearby airport to practice touch-and-go landings. After five trips in the traffic pattern, the student taxied the airplane to the ramp, and the instructor got out of the airplane. After a short briefing, the student taxied back to the runway alone for her first solo flight. The CFI observed the flight from approximately100-150 yards. The student pilot performed two satisfactory landings, but on the third attempted landing, the airplane bounced several times. On the last bounce, the propeller blades struck the ground.
Examination of the airplane revealed damage to the propeller, as well as the nose gear and engine compartment firewall. Official weather data at the time of the accident reported winds from 060 at 9 knots. The CFI reported weather as visual meteorological conditions, with a wind at five knots, straight down runway 08. The student reported a wind from the left, followed by a horizontal wind shift into a crosswind from the right. According to the student pilot, she overcompensated for the change in wind direction, distracting her from the landing and resulting in a late flare. The student cited "inexperience" as a factor in her hard landing. The student pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N448ER
- Reported as
- Cessna 172R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17260610
- Airframe hours
- 3,066
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2-A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
- Registered owner
- Boeing Capital
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · July 18, 2001 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- ORM · Ormond Beach, FL
- Airport
- KOMN · Ormond Beach Airport, runway 8, 4,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 18
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 40 total · 40 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 33 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,300 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- DAB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.