# NTSB IAD05LA060: Cessna 172, N8897V, Pikeville, KY, April 10, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 10, 2005, 15:00 local (19:00 UTC) - Place: Pikeville, KY - Coordinates: 37.561668, -82.56639 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.5617&lon=-82.5664&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 61453 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD05LA060 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61453/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD05LA060 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - lack of certification, pilot in command - flare - improper, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis Prior to the accident, the student pilot received about 5 total hours of dual flight instruction. Upon receipt of his medical certificate, the pilot scheduled the use of the flying club airplane for a solo flight. During the flight, the pilot landed the airplane with about 1/3 of the runway remaining, and bounced several times, "hard," resulting in substantial damage. The student pilot had not been endorsed to fly solo, nor did he consult with his flight instructor prior to conducting the solo flight. ## Factual narrative On April 10, 2005, about 1500 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N8897V, received substantial damage during a hard landing at Pike County Airport (PBX), Pikeville, Kentucky. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local instructional flight, which was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. During a telephone interview, the student pilot stated that prior to joining the flying club, which owned and operated the accident airplane, he had received about 2 hours of flight instruction from a flight instructor in a different state. He had recently received about 3 hours of dual flight instruction from a new instructor, in the accident airplane. The pilot scheduled the use of the airplane, and on the day of the accident flight, requested that an airport employed lineman retrieve the airplane from the hangar. He then took off on a solo flight, with the intention of flying in the airport traffic pattern. During the subsequent landing, the airplane impacted the runway "hard," and bounced several times. The lineman who retrieved the airplane for the pilot, along with an airport mechanic, witnessed the accident, and submitted written statements. The lineman heard the student pilot state, via the radio, his intention to land on runway 27. He then looked outside, and observed the airplane about 200 feet above the runway. The airplane touched down with about 1/3 of the runway length remaining, then bounced "hard" four times. The mechanic recounted a similar sequence of events, additionally; the mechanic inspected the runway following the accident, and found that there were skid marks on the last 200 feet of runway. He also inspected the airplane, and found that the firewall had been damaged. According to the flight instructor, who provided the pilot his most recent training, he had not endorsed the pilot for solo flight. The pilot had not consulted him regarding his intention to perform a solo flight, and on the day of the accident flight, the instructor was out of town. When asked why he had flown the accident airplane without a solo endorsement, the student pilot stated that based on what a previous flight instructor had told him, once he received his medical certificate, he would be authorized to fly an airplane solo. The weather reported at Julian Carroll Airport (JKL), Jackson, Kentucky, located 36 nautical miles west, at 1453, included variable winds at 3 knots, and a broken ceiling at 7,500 feet. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8897V](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8897V-2008-05-28), registration cancelled 2008-05-28, S/N 17264255, built 1974 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172 - Registry model: [Cessna 172M](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172m) (registry code 2072418) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17264255 - Engines: Lycoming O-320 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Twin Eagle Flying Club Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 1, 2004 - Departed: PBX, Pikeville, KY - Airport: PBX, Pike County Airport, runway 27, 5,350 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 23; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 5 total, 5 in this make and model, 2 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 0° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 7,500 ft broken - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 30.01 inHg - Observed at: JKL, 36 nm away ## 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 20050410007089A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050410007089A), Apr 10, 2005: Cessna 172M, Pikeville, KY, Substantial damage. (-23) During an approach to landing with full flaps, student pilot ^privac^ began porpoising and landed hard on the runway causing damage to the firewall and… 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.