- Date
- November 9, 2003, 09:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Winslow, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N75816Cessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20031109033359A
- Case key
- 58456
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, which resulted in a pilot induced porpoise oscillation 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 airplane landed hard and porpoised during the student pilot's solo cross-country flight, which damaged the firewall. The pilot reported that he touched down on the main landing gear and positioned the yoke into the full aft position. The airplane porpoised, and then landed hard. The pilot noted that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. The pilot felt that the accident could have been prevented if he had applied power after the porpoising began.
Factual narrative
On December 5, 2003, about 0945 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172N, N75816, experienced a hard landing at Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport (INW), Winslow, Arizona. Bulwal Partnership was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The student solo cross-country instructional flight originated from Cottonwood (P52), Arizona, at 0900.
The pilot reported in a written statement that during landing, he touched down on the main landing gear and positioned the yoke into the full aft position. The airplane porpoised, and then landed hard. The damage included a broken nose strut, propeller strike, and a bent firewall.
The pilot noted that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. He felt that the accident could have been prevented if he had applied power after the porpoising began.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N75816
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17267973
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 Series, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- BULWAL Partnership
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- P52 · Cottonwood, AZ
- Destination
- INW · Winslow, CA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- INW · Winslow-Lindbergh Regional, runway 011
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 48 total · 48 in this make and model · 48 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.