- Date
- June 19, 2005, 12:55 local (18:55 UTC)
- Place
- Hudson, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N733RLCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20050619016479A
- Case key
- 61807
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 flight instructor's improper use raising of the flaps. Contributing factors were the student pilot's misunderstanding of the instructor's intentions, the instructor's inadequate supervision of the student pilot, the density altitude, and the soft terrain.
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 flight instructor and his private pilot student were practicing touch and go landings. The student did not turn the carburetor heat off or put up the flaps after his touch and go, so the instuctor took control of the airplane. He turned off the carburetor heat and he said he got "hasty" and retracted the flaps completely instead of in gradual increments. The aircraft experienced a loss of lift and touched down on soft ground and nosed over. The temperature at the time of the accident was 92 degrees Fahrenheit with a calculated density altitude of 7713 feet msl.
Factual narrative
On June 19, 2005, at 1255 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N733RL, piloted by a student pilot and under the supervision of a commercial certificated flight instructor, was substantially damaged when it nosed over while performing a touch-and-go landing at Platte Valley Airport (18V), Hudson, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local instructional flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The instructor and student pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated at Boulder Municipal Airport (1V5), Boulder, Colorado, at 1210.
According to the instructor, the student was asked to perform a touch-and-go landing. After touching down on the runway, the student did not add power because he thought he was making a full-stop landing. The instructor asked if the student was going to take off. The student then added full power and the airplane lifted off. The instructor did not feel that the airplane was climbing at the proper rate, so he took control. He closed the carburetor heat control and noticed the flaps were still extended. He said he got "hasty" and retracted the flaps completely instead of in gradual increments. The airplane settled, touched down on soft ground and nosed over. The vertical stabilizer was crushed, the nose landing gear was broken off, the propeller was bent, and the firewall was buckled. The temperature at the time of the accident was 92 degrees F. Density altitude was calculated to be 7,713 feet msl.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N733RL
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268485
- Airframe hours
- 10,747
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Aviation Services, doing business as Flight School
- Registered owner
- Lawence W Jones
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 1, 2005
- Departed
- 18V · Hudson, CO
- Destination
- 1V5 · Boulder, CO
- Airport
- 18V · Platte Valley Airport, runway 15, 4,100 × 50 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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2004
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 8,000 total · 400 in this make and model · 7,800 as pilot in command · 90 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.