- Date
- August 2, 2005, 10:36 local (15:36 UTC)
- Place
- El Dorado, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N80735Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Little Rock FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050802019049A
- Case key
- 62136
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's improper landing flare resulting in a hard landing and his improper recovery procedures for a bounced 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
The 34-hour student pilot stated, while landing on Runway 13, the airplane "bounced and began to porpoise." The student pilot stated that the airplane "porpoised 4 or 5 times, the front landing gear broke and the propeller made contact with the tarmac." The pilot further reported that he was able to steer the airplane off the runway and onto a taxiway by using the rudder.
Factual narrative
On August 2, 2005, about 1036 central daylight time, a single-engine Cessna 172M airplane, N80735, was substantially damaged following a loss of control during landing at the Goodwin Field (ELD) near El Dorado, Arkansas The student pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Stevens Forestry Service, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the training flight. The solo local area flight departed at 1020 from Downtown El Dorado Airport (F43), near El Dorado, Arkansas.
According to a written statement provided by the 34-hour student pilot, while landing on Runway 13, the airplane "bounced and began to porpoise". The student pilot stated that the airplane "porpoised 4 or 5 times, the front landing gear broke and the propeller made contact with the tarmac". The pilot further reported the he was able to steer the airplane off the runway and onto a taxiway by using the rudder.
Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who traveled to the accident site, revealed structural damage to the engine firewall. The propeller and nose-gear were also damaged.
At 1053 a meteorological aviation report (METAR) for Goodwin Field (ELD), reported the wind variable at 4 knots, 9 statute miles visibility, few clouds at 4000 feet, temperature 88 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 73 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 30.05 inches of Mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80735
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17266722
- Airframe hours
- 5,860
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stevens Forestry Services, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2004 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- F43 · El Dorado, AR
- Destination
- F43 · El Dorado, AR
- Airport
- KELD · Goodwin Field, runway 13, 5,100 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 19
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 34 total · 34 in this make and model · 6 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KELD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.