- Date
- November 1, 2008, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Asheville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2055RCessna 172
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 24, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20081101853129A
- Case key
- 69383
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 recovery from a bounced landing.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
While conducting touch and go landings during the student pilot’s first solo flight, the Cessna 172S hit the runway "hard" and then bounced. The pilot added power, but the airplane "stalled" and the nose of the airplane pitched down, impacting the runway on the nose landing gear. The fuselage and firewall were substantially damaged during landing.
Factual narrative
While conducting touch and go landings during the student pilot’s first solo flight, the Cessna 172S hit the runway "hard" and then bounced. The pilot added power, but the airplane "stalled" and the nose of the airplane pitched down, impacting the runway on the nose landing gear. The fuselage and firewall were substantially damaged during landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2055R
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (S)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S9581
- Airframe hours
- 2,321
- Engine
- Lycoming IO360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- WNC Aviation
- Registered owner
- WNC Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 11, 2008
- Departed
- KAVL · Asheville, NC
- Destination
- KAVL · Asheville, NC
- Airport
- KAVL · Asheville Regional Airport, runway 34, 8,001 × 150 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 18 total · 18 in this make and model · 18 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.34 inHg
- Observed at
- KAVL
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.