- Date
- May 21, 2005, 10:35 local (15:35 UTC)
- Place
- Port Huron, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N860SACessna 172S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Belleville, MI, FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050521010269A
- Case key
- 61622
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 not performing a go-around and misjudging the flare leading to a hard landing.
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
The airplane piloted by a student pilot, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on a runway 28. The pilot stated, "Upon turning base leg I determined that I was high and reduced power to idle. I maintained an airspeed of 65 [knots] and judged that I would touch down at the runway midpoint. At the midpoint I had not touched down and was still 30 to 50 [feet] above the runway. Instead of going around I attempted to land. In the process I rotated [too] soon and [too] much. This resulted in landing at a higher speed. I landed hard and bounced up. I maintained direction accurately and stopped the aircraft within the confines of the runway." Recorded wind at the airport was 310 degrees at 5 knots. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane in reference to the flight.
Factual narrative
On May 21, 2005, about 1035 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172S, N860SA, piloted by a student pilot, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on runway 28 (4,001 feet by 75 feet) at the St Clair County International Airport (PHN), near Port Huron, Michigan. The solo instructional flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot was uninjured. The flight originated from the Huron County Memorial Airport, near Bad Axe, Michigan, about 0945.
The pilot's accident report stated:
Upon turning base leg I determined that I was high and
reduced power to idle. I maintained an airspeed of 65
[knots] and judged that I would touch down at the runway
midpoint. At the midpoint I had not touched down and
was still 30 to 50 [feet] above the runway. Instead of
going around I attempted to land. In the process I
rotated [too] soon and [too] much. This resulted in
landing at a higher speed. I landed hard and bounced
up. I maintained direction accurately and stopped the
aircraft within the confines of the runway.
At 1035, the recorded weather at PHN was: Wind 310 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 21 degrees C; dew point 4 degrees C; altimeter 30.02 inches of mercury.
The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane in reference to the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N860SA
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S8860
- Airframe hours
- 2,581
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Saint Clair Flight Academy Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 1, 2005 · 41 hours before
- Departed
- BAX · Bad Axe, MI
- Destination
- PHN · Port Huron, MI
- Flight plan
- Unknown
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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 70 total · 70 in this make and model · 7 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- PHN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.