- Date
- June 9, 2010, 14:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- New Smyrna Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N62568Cessna 172
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20100609038069A
- Case key
- 76404
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, and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.
Findings · 3
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
The flight instructor stated that after an uneventful local flight in the practice area, the student pilot and he returned to the airport for some landings. During the student pilot’s first landing, he flared too high and went around. The flight instructor demonstrated the subsequent landing and takeoff. He then transferred control of the airplane back to the student pilot, who flew the next traffic pattern and landing attempt. During the landing flare, the student pilot "abruptly" moved the yoke full forward. “My reaction time was not sufficient to completely correct the control inputs, which resulted in a hard nose wheel landing, followed by a pronounced bounce." The flight instructor aborted the landing, and the airplane performed as normally expected. The flight instructor then requested that the tower controllers look at the nose landing gear in flight and they reported no anomalies. After landing, the flight instructor realized that the nose wheel was flat. Upon further inspection by maintenance personnel, it was discovered that the engine firewall was wrinkled and required major repair.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor stated that after an uneventful local flight in the practice area, the student pilot and he returned to the airport for some landings. During the student pilot’s first landing, he flared too high and went around. The flight instructor demonstrated the subsequent landing and takeoff. He then transferred control of the airplane back to the student pilot, who flew the next traffic pattern and landing attempt. During the landing flare, the student pilot "abruptly" moved the yoke full forward. “My reaction time was not sufficient to completely correct the control inputs, which resulted in a hard nose wheel landing, followed by a pronounced bounce." The flight instructor aborted the landing, and the airplane performed as normally expected. The flight instructor then requested that the tower controllers look at the nose landing gear in flight and they reported no anomalies. After landing, the flight instructor realized that the nose wheel was flat. Upon further inspection by maintenance personnel, it was discovered that the engine firewall was wrinkled and required major repair.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N62568
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (S)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S10726
- Airframe hours
- 1,975
- Engine
- Lycoming IO360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Epic Aviation
- Registered owner
- Balderson Group Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 7, 2010 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- EVB · New Smyrna Beach, FL
- Destination
- EVB · New Smyrna Beach, FL
- Airport
- EVB · New Smyrna Beach Municipal, runway 11, 4,319 × 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 22, 2009
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 5,440 total · 500 in this make and model · 2,632 as pilot in command · 71 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1 total · 1 in this make and model · 1 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- EVB
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 21, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.7 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.
Other investigations on N62568 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.