- Date
- June 16, 1991, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rifle, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9885JCessna 172J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 24, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910616022739A
- Case key
- 18099
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 student pilot improperly flared the aircraft during 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
During landing, the student pilot flared his aircraft and landed hard. The aircraft porpoised several times and then the pilot executed a go-around. On the next landing, during roll out, the nose gear collapsed. The student pilot had a total flight time of 27 hours, of which 5 hours were logged as solo in the Cessna 172.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9885J
- Reported as
- Cessna 172J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17273948
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Corporate Aircraft Service
- Registered owner
- Corporate Aircraft Service
- Airport
- RIL · Garfield County Regional, runway 26, 5,999 × 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 27 total · 27 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
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 N9885J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.