- Date
- February 22, 2009, 15:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Manhattan, KS
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N733FRCessna 172
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration, FSDO
- FAA report
- 20090222003259A
- Case key
- 73558
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 pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot said that he flared too high and the airplane bounced during a hard landing. After one bounce of approximately five to eight feet, the airplane landed nose gear first and the nose gear collapsed. There was substantial damage to the forward firewall, but no injuries to the pilot and the passenger. The pilot, who had 51 total hours of flight time, had four hours of experience in this type airplane, including one hour of instruction given four months previously.
Factual narrative
The 51 hour private pilot said he flared too high and the airplane bounced during a hard landing. After one bounce of approximately five to eight feet the airplane landed nose gear first, and the nose gear collapsed. There was substantial damage to the forward firewall, but no injuries to the pilot and the passenger. The pilot had only four hours of experience in this type airplane, including only one hour of instruction given four months previously. He said that he should have insisted on additional instruction in that specific make and model airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N733FR
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (N)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268265
- Airframe hours
- 8,630
- Engine
- Lycoming O320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 18, 2008 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- KMHK · Manhattan, KS
- Destination
- KMHK · Manhattan, KS
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- KMHK · Manhattan Regional Airport, runway 21, 7,000 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 7, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 51 total · 4 in this make and model · 18 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 3 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KMHK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.