DEN05LA055

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172N · Loveland, CO · February 2, 2005

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
February 2, 2005, 14:50 local (21:50 UTC)
Place
Loveland, CO
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N618MNCessna 172N
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 8, 2005
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
FAA Flight Standards District Office
FAA report
20050202002039A
Case key
60963

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 dual student's improper flare and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision.. A contributing factor was the inadequate communication between the flight instructor and the dual student,

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.

Hard landingLanding - flare/touchdown
Communications - inadequateDual studentFactor
Communications - inadequatePilot in command(cfi)Factor
Flare - improperDual studentCause
Supervision - inadequatePilot in command(cfi)Cause

Analysis

According to the flight instructor, they were performing a touch-and-go landing. During the landing flare, the flight instructor requested that the student perform a go-around and the student acknowledged. The instructor stated that the student added full power and "fully and abruptly moved the control yoke to its full forward limit." The instructor stated that he attempted to take control of the airplane; however, the nose gear impacted the runway and the airplane bounced. The instructor stated that he was able to land the airplane, following the bounce. He brought the airplane to a complete stop approximately 15 feet off of the left side of the runway. In two separate telephone interviews, both the flight instructor and the student were asked about the discrepancy between their statements. The flight instructor stated that the accident sequence was as he had stated in his written statement. He felt the student was not remembering approximately 20 seconds of the landing sequence. The student stated that the accident sequence was exactly as he had stated in his written statement. The student also stated that the purpose of the flight was to perform touch-and-go landings, not go-arounds. The student stated that the hard landing was only his third landing. He was unaware of what a go-around procedure was. The airplane was substantially damaged. A postimpact examination of the airplane systems revealed no anomalies.

Factual narrative

On February 2, 2005, approximately 1450 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172N, N618MN, piloted by a commercial certificated flight instructor, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL), Loveland, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The instructional flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The flight instructor and his student reported no injuries. The local flight originated at 1430.

According to the written statement submitted by the flight instructor, he and his student were performing a touch-and-go landing on runway 15. During the landing flare, the flight instructor requested that the student perform a go-around and the student acknowledged. The instructor stated that the student added full power and "fully and abruptly moved the control yoke to its full forward limit." The instructor stated that he attempted to take control of the airplane; however, the nose gear impacted the runway and the airplane bounced. The instructor stated that he was able to land the airplane, following the bounce. He brought the airplane to a complete stop approximately 15 feet off of the left side of the runway.

According to the written statement submitted by the student pilot, he performed what he felt was a "normal landing." He stated that he "held back the yoke"; however, the airplane bounced "slightly above normal" and touched down again. The student stated that upon the application of the brakes, the airplane began to "yaw to the left." The nose landing gear assembly collapsed and the firewall was wrinkled. A postimpact examination of the airplane systems, conducted by the FAA, revealed no anomalies.

In two separate telephone interviews, both the flight instructor and the student were asked about the discrepancy between their statements. The flight instructor stated that the accident sequence was as he had stated in his written statement. He felt the student was not remembering approximately 20 seconds of the landing sequence. The student stated that the accident sequence was exactly as he had stated in his written statement. The student also stated that the purpose of the flight was to perform touch-and-go landings, not go-arounds. The student stated that the hard landing was only his third landing. He was unaware of what a go-around procedure was.

Aircraft

Registration
N618MN
Reported as
Cessna 172N
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17269028
Airframe hours
9,914
Engine
Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Registered owner
Patrick Hinton
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · November 8, 2004 · 93 hours before
Departed
3V5 · Fort Collins, CO
Destination
3V5
Airport
FNL · Fort Collins-Loveland Muni, runway 15, 8,500 × 100 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 · 2

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Flight instructor
Age
26
Injuries
None
Certificates
Flight instructor, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, Invalid Medical for flight
Last flight review
October 14, 2004
Seat
Right
Flight hours
1,180 total · 700 in this make and model · 1,106 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 47 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Role
Student pilot
Age
72
Injuries
None
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Flight hours
23 total · 23 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
230° at 5 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
46 °F, dew point 18 °F
Altimeter
30.22 inHg
Observed at
FNL, 1 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.

Other investigations on N618MN · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.