- Date
- April 24, 2010, 10:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wurtsboro, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N51231Cessna 172P
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 12, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100424033269A
- Case key
- 75837
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 flare and recovery from a bounced landing.
Findings · 2
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
According to the student pilot, he departed from the airport and was performing supervised solo takeoffs and landings. During the first landing, the airplane impacted the runway with the nose landing gear first and bounced several times; he subsequently initiated a go-around and landed again uneventfully. The student pilot's flight instructor, who witnessed the event, stated that the accident was "a matter of judgment call and inexperience." While putting the airplane away, the student pilot and his flight instructor noticed damage to the nose landing gear and the propeller. An inspection performed by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the firewall. No mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported by the student pilot and his flight instructor.
Factual narrative
According to the student pilot, he departed from the airport and was performing supervised solo takeoffs and landings. During the first landing, the airplane impacted the runway with the nose landing gear first and bounced several times; he subsequently initiated a go-around and landed again uneventfully. The student pilot's flight instructor, who witnessed the event, stated that the accident was "a matter of judgment call and inexperience." While putting the airplane away, the student pilot and his flight instructor noticed damage to the nose landing gear and the propeller. An inspection performed by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the firewall. No mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported by the student pilot and his flight instructor.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51231
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274284
- Airframe hours
- 4,364
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Waco Transport Business Trust
- Registered owner
- Waco Transport Business Trust
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 11, 2010
- Departed
- N82 · Wurtsboro, NY
- Destination
- N82 · Wurtsboro, NY
- Airport
- N82 · Wurtsboro-Sullivan County, runway 23, 3,592 × 60 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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 37 total · 22 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- MGJ, 10 nm away
Docket · 7
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 10, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.