# NTSB DEN00LA129: Cessna 172N, N4642J, Durango, CO, June 30, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 30, 2000, 08:50 local (14:50 UTC) - Place: Durango, CO - Location: 37.2032° N, 107.8692° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ANIMAS AIR PARK (00C), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.2032&lon=-107.8692&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 30, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 49687 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN00LA129 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/49687/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN00LA129 ## Probable cause The pilot prematurely flaring the airplane for landing, resulting in a hard landing, followed by an inadvertent pilot-induced porpoise and loss of directional control. A factor was the fence. ## Analysis The solo student planned to make a touch-and-go landing on runway 1. The takeoff and landing approach were uneventful. The student said he deployed 20 degrees of flaps and slowed the airplane to about 65 knots. As he approached the runway threshold, he closed the throttle and raised the nose. The airplane 'started to go up and down too rapidly.' The main landing gear 'hit hard' and the airplane 'bounced off the ground and . . .started to torque to the left. The airplane then landed on its nose gear and skidded left off the runway,' coming to rest against a barbed wire fence. ## Factual narrative On June 30, 2000, approximately 0850 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N4642J, operated by Gregg Flying Service, Inc., was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during landing at Animas Air Park, Durango, Colorado. The student pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Durango a few minutes before the accident. According to the pilot's accident report, his instructor told him to make a touch-and-go landing on runway 1. The takeoff and landing approach were uneventful. He said he deployed 20 degrees of flaps and slowed the airplane to about 65 knots. As he approached the runway threshold, he closed the throttle and raised the nose. The airplane "started to go up and down too rapidly." The main landing gear "hit hard" and the airplane "bounced off the ground and . . .started to torque to the left. The [air]plane then landed on its [nose] gear and skidded left off the runway," coming to rest against a barbed wire fence. Damage was thought to be minimal until repairs were begun. The left horizontal stabilizer was damaged and the firewall was buckled. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - flare - premature, pilot in command (cause) - porpoise/pilot-induced oscillation - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - fence (contributing factor) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4642J](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4642J-2019-05-20), registration cancelled 2019-05-20, S/N 17273658, 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: 17273658 - Airframe hours: 8450 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-H2AD 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Gregg Flying Service, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, June 11, 2000, 20 hours before - Departed: 00C - Destination: OOC - Flight plan: Unknown - Airport: 00C, Animas Airpark, runway 1, 5,010 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 25; student; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 16 total, 16 in this make and model, 2 as pilot in command, 13 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 63 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: DRO, 9 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20000630010119A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000630010119A), Jun 30, 2000: Cessna 172N, Durango, CO, No damage. (-23)During the student pilots first solo landing the aircraft hit hard in a level attitude bouncing back into the air landing again on the nose wheel. The… ## Other investigations on N4642J (3) 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 GAA19CA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA19CA081), Nov 12, 2018: Cessna 172 (N4642J), Inverness, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot receiving instruction's failure to maintain directional control during landing. - [NTSB DEN02LA025](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA025), Feb 17, 2002: Cessna 172N (N4642J), Durango, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. Contributing factors were the crosswind and the pilot's fatigue from lack of sleep. - [NTSB DEN82DA164](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN82DA164), Aug 16, 1982: Cessna 172N (N4642J), Durango, CO, 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.