- Date
- November 2, 1999, 11:40 local (18:40 UTC)
- Place
- Chandler, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N98909Cessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19991102031849A
- Case key
- 47788
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 misjudged landing flare and failure to maintain an adequate airspeed margin, which resulted in a stall/mush and 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
The pilot stated that he flared high and the airplane landed flat on all three landing gear and bounced three times. The nose tire went flat and the propeller contacted the ground. Subsequent inspection revealed the firewall was buckled. The pilot said there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures prior to the hard landing.
Factual narrative
On November 2, 1999, about 1140 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 172N, N98909, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at the Chandler, Arizona, municipal airport. Sawyer Aviation operated the airplane, which was rented by the pilot, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The local area personal flight departed Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, about 1130. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot stated that he flared high and the airplane landed flat on all three landing gear and bounced three times. The nose tire went flat and the propeller contacted the ground. Subsequent inspection revealed the firewall was buckled. In his written statement, the pilot said there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures prior to the hard landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N98909
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17276377
- Airframe hours
- 9,811
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sawyer Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 9, 1999 · 49 hours before
- Departed
- PHX · Phoenix, AZ
- Destination
- CHD
- Airport
- CHD · Chandler Municipal, runway 4L, 4,401 × 75 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
- 19
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 56 total · 33 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IWA, 8 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.
Other investigations on N98909 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.