# NTSB ERA25LA148: Cessna 172, N740SP, Brooksville, FL, March 9, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: March 9, 2025, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: Brooksville, FL · KBKV Airport - Coordinates: 28.473458, -82.456065 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.4735&lon=-82.4561&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - 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 - NTSB case key (mKey): 199882 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA25LA148 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/199882/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=199882 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA148 ## Probable cause The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing and substantial damage to the airplane’s fuselage. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: landing flare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained; cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 99 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 1,285 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 206 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 77 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot was on a solo instructional flight in the airport traffic pattern. She approached the runway and described that the airplane touched down on both main landing gear and that the nosewheel touched down almost immediately thereafter. The airplane then bounced three times, which each bounce being harder than the last. After the last bounce, the pilot taxied off the runway uneventfully. The underside of the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N740SP](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N740SP), registered now, S/N 172S8671, built 2000 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172 (S) - Registry model: [Cessna 172S](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (registry code 2072439) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming I0360 SER A&C](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-ser-a-c) (registry code 41511, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 172S8671 - Year built: 2000 - Airframe hours: 8402.6 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: American Aviation Flight Academy LLC. - Registered owner: Jet Air Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, February 28, 2025 - Departed: BKV, Brooksville, FL - Destination: BKV, Brooksville, FL - Airport: BKV, Brooksville-Tampa Bay Rgnl, runway 21, 4,200 × 150 ft, concrete - Equipment: Stall warning system, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 22; injuries: none; student; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 63 total, 63 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,100 ft overcast - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 68 °F - Altimeter: 30.02 inHg - Observed at: KBKV - METAR: SPECI KBKV 091536Z 23006KT 10SM SCT021 OVC031 26/20 A3002 RMK AO2 T02560200= ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20250309008809A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250309008809A), Mar 9, 2025: Cessna 172S, Brooksville, FL, Substantial damage. PIC departed runway 21 in Brooksville, FL. PIC was making a left traffic pattern. PIC did a normal landing procedure, full flaps, pitching for 75 KTS. PIC… ## Other investigations on N740SP (2) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB GAA15CA161](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA15CA161), Jun 10, 2015: Cessna 172S (N740SP), Galesburg, IL, substantial damage. Probable cause: Firewall damage reported by maintenance personnel that occurred during an unknown phase of flight, because the accident flight and pilot could not be determined. - [NTSB ERA13CA371](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13CA371), Aug 22, 2013: Cessna 172S (N740SP), Manassas, VA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student pilot’s improper recovery from a bounced landing. ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 21, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=199882. 3.5 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 1.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18960064&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120%20(Signed)_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigation photographs (item 2, PDF, 12 pages, 1.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18959975&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigation%20Photographs-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.