- Date
- May 13, 1996, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Findlay, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N73664Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 22, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960513020309A
- Case key
- 28056
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 misjudged flare during 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
The student pilot, who was on a solo cross-country, stated that while landing he '...flared [too] early causing the plane to balloon up, and then the aircraft stalled. The aircraft slammed to the ground before I could apply throttle.' He reported that the airplane '...was approximately 5-10 feet above the runway...' when it stalled.
Factual narrative
On May 13, 1996, at 1730 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N73664, operated by a student pilot on a solo cross country instructional flight, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at Findlay Airport, in Findlay, Ohio. The solo student pilot, the sole occupant, reported no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and no flight plan was filed. The solo cross country flight, operated under 14 CFR Part 91, and originated from Wooster, Ohio, at 1650, with planned landings at Findlay, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio.
The student pilot stated that upon arrival at the Findlay Airport, the airplane was "...coming in for a landing and flared [too] early causing the plane to balloon up, and then the aircraft stalled. The aircraft slammed to the ground before I could apply throttle. " The student pilot stated that the airplane "...was probably 5-10 feet above the runway..." when it stalled.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N73664
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 73664
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- David L. Abshire
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 2, 1996 · 42 hours before
- Departed
- BJJ · Wooster, OH
- Destination
- FDY · Findlay, OH
- Airport
- FDY · Findlay, runway 36, 6,001 × 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 21
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 37 total · 37 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.