- Date
- March 17, 2008, 12:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Batavia, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N53417Cessna 172R
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Cincinnati FSDO
- FAA report
- 20080317833189A
- Case key
- 67777
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 misjudgment of the landing flare and her inadequate recovery from the 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 student pilot stated that she was practicing touch-and-goes on runway 4 (3,568 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) as part of a solo instructional flight when the accident occurred. She noted that the winds were variable and gusty, and it was "choppy" in the pattern. The accident occurred on what was to be the final landing for the day. The pilot reported that the airplane was established on final approach about 65 knots. The airplane was slightly low, but she did not feel the need to correct the glide path. The airplane touched down and its nose suddenly turned to the left. As the nose went to the left, the airplane bounced. She "gently lowered the nose, but the plane bounced again and again." Her efforts to regain control were not successful and the airplane ultimately came to rest in a grass area to the left side of the runway. The nose landing gear collapsed during the accident sequence. A post accident inspection did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a pre-impact failure or malfunction. Archived weather information was not available for the accident airport. Winds recorded at an airport about 10 miles north of the accident airport were from 110 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot reported a total flight time of 97.5 hours. She had accumulated a total of 5.8 hours as pilot-in-command (PIC) and 2.3 hours as PIC in the same make and model aircraft.
Factual narrative
The student pilot stated that she was practicing touch-and-goes on runway 4 (3,568 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) as part of a solo instructional flight when the accident occurred. She noted that the winds were variable and gusty, and it was "choppy" in the pattern. The accident occurred on what was to be the final landing for the day. The pilot reported that the airplane was established on final approach about 65 knots. The airplane was slightly low, but she did not feel the need to correct the glide path. The airplane touched down and its nose suddenly turned to the left. As the nose went to the left, the airplane bounced. She "gently lowered the nose, but the plane bounced again and again." Her efforts to regain control were not successful and the airplane ultimately came to rest in a grass area to the left side of the runway. The nose landing gear collapsed during the accident sequence. A post accident inspection did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a pre-impact failure or malfunction. Archived weather information was not available for the accident airport. Winds recorded at an airport about 10 miles north of the accident airport were from 110 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot reported a total flight time of 97.5 hours. She had accumulated a total of 5.8 hours as pilot-in-command (PIC) and 2.3 hours as PIC in the same make and model aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53417
- Reported as
- Cessna 172R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17281162
- Airframe hours
- 3,297
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Eastern Cincinnati Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 1, 2008
- Departed
- I69 · Batavia, OH
- Airport
- runway 04, 3,658 × 75 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 98 total · 95 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.45 inHg
- Observed at
- LUK, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.