- Date
- April 1, 2005, 13:25 local (21:25 UTC)
- Place
- San Jose, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4789GCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 7, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20050401005619A
- Case key
- 61246
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 landing flare, which resulted in a 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 as the student pilot was practicing a soft field landing. The student said he flared too high and reduced the power to idle at the same time, which resulted in a hard landing. The student had been practicing short and soft field takeoffs and landings with his instructor. The instructor believed the student pilot was ready to practice on his own. The accident flight was the student's fourth solo flight, and was an unsupervised solo.
Factual narrative
On April 1, 2005, at 1325 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N4789G, landed hard on runway 31L, at Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV), San Jose, California. American School of Aviation operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as an instructional flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight was scheduled to terminate at RHV.
In the student pilot's written statement he reported that the purpose of the flight was to practice short and soft field takeoffs and landings. During the landing flare, he pulled back on the yoke and reduced the power. He noted that the airspeed was 50 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). The pilot said he then pulled off the power, but the airplane was still too high above the runway at a low airspeed and it stalled. The student pilot reported that he had accrued a total flight time of 30 hours.
According to the student's certified flight instructor (CFI), this was the student pilot's fourth solo flight. The CFI stated that the student had completed three short and soft field landings, and he decided that the student was ready to practice on his own. The CFI reported that the flight was an unsupervised solo.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4789G
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17273343
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- American School of Aviation
- Registered owner
- Norman O. Flisram
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KRHV · San Jose, CA
- Destination
- KRHV · San Jose, CA
- Airport
- KRHV · Reid Hillview, runway 31L, 3,099 × 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 19
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 35 total · 35 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- SJC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.