- Date
- August 7, 2002, 10:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mount Pocono, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1727VCessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 26, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20020807017459A
- Case key
- 55431
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 pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During the student pilot's landing, the nose wheel hit the runway first, and the airplane porpoised three times before coming to a full stop. The student pilot then flew to another airport where he landed uneventfully and taxied for fuel. Upon leaving the airplane, he noticed oil on the cowling. A subsequent examination revealed that the nose strut metering piston was damaged, the attachment bolt was sheared, and the firewall was buckled.
Factual narrative
On August 7, 2002, at 1000 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N1727V, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport (MPO), Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross country flight that originated at Danbury Municipal Airport (DXR), Danbury, Connecticut, at 0900. No flight plan was filed for the solo instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91.
According to the student pilot, his approach to the landing was uneventful, but upon touchdown, the nose wheel hit the runway first and the airplane porpoised three times before coming to a full stop. The student pilot then taxied back and flew to Sullivan County International Airport (MSV), Monticello, New York, where he landed, then taxied to the ramp to purchase fuel. Upon leaving the airplane, he noticed oil on the cowling and saw that "the nose strut had no give." He called an airframe and powerplant mechanic who took off the cowling and informed him that the nose gear strut had collapsed. The student pilot then contacted his flight instructor, and the next flight was cancelled.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector subsequently performed an examination of the airplane. According to the inspector, the nose strut metering piston was damaged and the attachment bolt was sheared. The firewall was buckled from the bottom to 6 inches above the top of the nose strut, and the nose tire was damaged.
The student pilot reported a total of 76 flight hours of flight time.
Weather at the airport at the time of the accident included winds from 320 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, and a few clouds 8,500 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1727V
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17263727
- Airframe hours
- 6,700
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Arrow Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 10, 2002 · 57 hours before
- Departed
- DXR · Danbury, CT
- Destination
- MPO · Mount Pocono, PA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- MPO · Pocono Mountains Municipal, runway 31, 3,948 × 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
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 76 total · 76 in this make and model · 8 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- MPO
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 N1727V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.