# NTSB CHI03LA103: Cessna 172N, N6317D, Carbondale, IL, April 11, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 11, 2003, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Carbondale, IL - Coordinates: 37.778057, -89.251945 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7781&lon=-89.2519&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 30, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 56820 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI03LA103 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/56820/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI03LA103 ## Probable cause The pilot failed to properly recover from a bounced landing which resulted in the airplane porpoising. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - recovery from bounced landing - not successful, pilot in command (cause) - porpoise/pilot-induced oscillation - uncontrolled, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The airplane sustained substantial damage during a hard landing. The pilot reported she did a go-around on the first landing because she was too high. She reported, "During the second approach I used 20 degrees of flaps. The airplane bounced once and I decided to go around again. On the third approach, I used 10 degrees of flaps and the airplane bounced and then landed." Witnesses reported seeing the airplane "porpoise" down the runway during the first attempted landing, and then it did a go-around. On the second attempt the airplane was fast on final approach and it landed flat. The airplane bounced back in the air and porpoised down the runway. The airplane hit hard on the nose with a "crunch," and then it did a go-around. The witnesses reported the airplane did not climb more that 300-400 feet in the traffic pattern before attempting to land a third time. A witness reported that the pilot landed fast and the airplane "porpoised slightly with the tires bouncing between the mains and nose, but very mild in comparison." The pilot kept the airplane on the runway and taxied back to the hangar. ## Factual narrative On April 11, 2003, at 1500 central daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N6317D, operated by SIU Aviation, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on runway 36R (6,506 feet by 100 feet, asphalt) at the Southern Illinois Airport (MDH), Carbondale, Illinois. The private pilot was not injured. The 14 Part 91 personal cross country flight departed Owensboro, Kentucky, at 1355, and was making a full stop landing at MDH. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was filed. The pilot reported she did a go-around on the first landing because she was too high. She reported, "During the second approach I used 20 degrees of flaps. The airplane bounced once and I decided to go around again. On the third approach, I used 10 degrees of flaps and the airplane bounced and then landed." Witnesses reported seeing the airplane "porpoise" down the runway during the first attempted landing, and then it did a go-around. They reported that on the second attempt the airplane was fast on final approach and that it landed flat. The airplane bounced back in the air and began to porpoise down the runway. The witnesses reported the airplane hit hard on the nose with a "crunch," and then it did a go-around. The witnesses reported the airplane did not climb more that 300-400 feet in the traffic pattern before attempting to land a third time. A witness reported that the pilot landed fast and the airplane "porpoised slightly with the tires bouncing between the mains and nose, but very mild in comparison." The pilot kept the airplane on the runway and taxied back to the hangar. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6317D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6317D), registered now, S/N 17272715, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172N - Registry model: [Cessna 172N](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (registry code 2072434) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17272715 - Airframe hours: 9837 - Engines: Lycoming O320-H2AD 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: SIU Aviation - Registered owner: Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, February 20, 2003, 64 hours before - Departed: OWB, OWENSBORO, KY - Destination: MDH, Carbondale, IL - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: MDH, Southern Illinois Airport, runway 36R, 6,506 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 20; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review December 20, 2002; seat: left; flight hours: 97 total, 4 in this make and model, 18 as pilot in command, 16 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 330° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 37 °F - Altimeter: 29.95 inHg - Observed at: MDH ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030411005659A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030411005659A), Apr 11, 2003: Cessna 172N, Carbondale-Murp, IL, Minor damage. (-23) On April 11, 2003, at approximately 1500 local time, N6317D, a CE-172, operated by a private pilot, and sole occupant, was returning from a cross country… ## Other investigations on N6317D (2) 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 ERA25LA213](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA213), May 22, 2025: Cessna 172N (N6317D), Murfreesboro, TN, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane while attempting to take off in a gusty crosswind, which resulted in a runway excursion. - [NTSB CHI83LA427](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI83LA427), Sep 6, 1983: Cessna 172 (N6317D), Carbondale, IL, substantial damage 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. --- 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.