# NTSB LAX04CA290: Cessna 172S, N3554Y, Honolulu, HI, August 13, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: August 13, 2004, 10:53 local (20:53 UTC) - Place: Honolulu, HI - Coordinates: 21.318611, -157.922225 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=21.3186&lon=-157.9222&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 59906 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX04CA290 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59906/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04CA290 ## Probable cause the student pilot's misjudged flare, which resulted in a hard landing. Also causal was the student pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing and pilot induced porpoise and failure to maintain directional control on the landing roll, which resulted in the nose gear collapsing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - flare - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - recovery from bounced landing - improper, pilot in command (cause) - porpoise/pilot-induced oscillation - not corrected, pilot in command (cause) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The airplane experienced a hard landing, porpoised, and veered off the runway. The student pilot was attempting to land. During the landing flare, the airplane touched down hard and bounced back into the air. The airplane continued to bounce down the runway, veering to the right. On the third bounce the nose gear collapsed and the airplane continued to the right, off the runway, coming to rest on a grass median. The student pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative On August 13, 2004, at 1053 Hawaiian standard time, a Cessna 172S, N3554Y, experienced a hard landing and veered off the runway at the Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii. Flight School Hawaii was operating the rental 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 flight plan had not been filed. The local instructional flight originated at Kalaeloa Airport, Kapolei, Hawaii, about 1030, with a planned destination of Honolulu. In a telephone conversation with a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, the student pilot reported that he was attempting to land on runway 04L. He configured the airplane for landing and noted that the approach appeared normal. During the landing flare, the airplane touched down on the main landing gear and bounced back into the air. Upon returning back down onto the runway surface the airplane hit hard and bounced down the runway several more times. On the third bounce the nose gear collapsed and the airplane veered to the right. It continued off the runway and came to rest on a grass median. The airplane incurred damage to the firewall. In a written statement, the student pilot stated that he did not properly flare, which resulted in a hard landing. He added that in retrospect, he should have added power and executed a go-around. The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3554Y](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3554Y-2018-01-03), registration cancelled 2018-01-03, S/N 172S8956, built 2001 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172S - Registry model: [Cessna 172S](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (registry code 2072439) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-L2A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-l2a) (registry code 41597, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 172S8956 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360-L2A reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Flight School Hawaii - Registered owner: Makani Aviation LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Departed: PHJR, Kapolei, HI - Destination: PHNL, Honolulu, HI - Airport: PHNL, Honolulu International Airport, runway 04L ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 81; student; medical: class 3; flight hours: 54 total, 54 in this make and model, 14 in the last 90 days, 14 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## Other investigations on N3554Y (1) 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. - [NTSB WPR13LA062](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13LA062), Dec 2, 2012: Cessna 172S (N3554Y), Kahului, HI, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The noninstrument-rated pilot’s spatial disorientation and subsequent failure to maintain airplane control while operating over water in dark night conditions with reduced visibility due to rain in… 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.