- Date
- November 14, 2021, 10:13 UTC
- Place
- Palm Coast, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N61237Cessna 172S
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA-FSDO
- Case key
- 104269
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 subsequent improper recovery from a bounced landing, resulting in a hard landing and substantial damage to the lower fuselage and firewall.
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 student pilot reported turning base to final and noticed birds in front of the airplane; she avoided the birds and lined the airplane up on the runway centerline. The pilot stated that during the landing flare the airplane “began to balloon” and she reduced power and back pressure. The airplane continued to balloon as it “became out of my control.” The airplane bounced several times, striking the runway hard before coming to rest on the runway, resulting in substantial damage the cockpit floor structure and firewall. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61237
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S10674
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 7,790
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Phoenix East Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Phoenix East Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 6, 2021
- Departed
- DAB · Daytona Bch, FL
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- FIN · Flagler Exec, runway 11/29, 5,500 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display
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
- 35
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 41 total · 41 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- FIN
- METAR
- KFIN 141550Z 34004KT 10SM CLR 17/11 A3009
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 30, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.0 MB in all.