- Date
- February 28, 2026, 11:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Denver, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1071ZCessna 172S
- Defining event
- Landing: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20260228002599A
- Case key
- 202604
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 solo student pilot's improper landing flare and subsequent improper recovery from a bounced landing which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane.
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 student pilot was landing the airplane after a solo practice flight. During the landing he recalled that the airplane touched down for a few seconds then went airborne again a few feet above the runway. The pilot lowered the nose of the airplane and the airplane landed hard and flat. A security camera video of the event showed the airplane dip momentarily on short final before touch down, followed by a bounced landing where pitch was held relatively steady, followed by a second bounce. The nose of the airplane pitched down and the airplane touched down nose landing gear first, followed by another bounce up and another pitch down after which the airplane stayed on the runway and rolled out. Post event inspection of the airplane showed that the fuselage sustained substantial damage. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1071Z
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S9826
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 6,528.8
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Aspen Flying Club
- Registered owner
- 5280 Flying Club LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 17, 2026
- Departed
- KAPA · Centennial, CO
- Airport
- KAPA · Centennial Airport, runway 35L, 7,001 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 159 total · 149 in this make and model · 11 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 1 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KAPA, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KAPA 281853Z 05004KT 10SM FEW140 FEW220 18/M17 A3004 RMK AO2 SLP143 T01781172=
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 30, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 26.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.