- Date
- May 7, 1990, 09:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Cottonwood, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N251ERCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900507016539A
- Case key
- 26806
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
Premature raising of the flaps during the go-around maneuver.
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 (sp) was on her first supervised solo flight. During the second approach for landing, the aircraft was noted to be too high. The sp entered a slip to lose the altitude. The aircraft touched down hard and bounced on the main landing gear. The supervising certified instructor pilot (CFI) instructed the sp to go-around via a portable radio. The sp initiated the go-around. The aircraft was noted to climb and then descend. According to the CFI, the sp raised the flaps prematurely. The aircraft descended and struck the runway nose gear first.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N251ER
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17271075
- Airframe hours
- 4,932
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4N, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Embry Riddle Aeronautical
- Registered owner
- Embry Riddle Aeronautical Univ
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · April 27, 1990 · 32 hours before
- Airport
- P52 · Cottonwood, runway 32, 4,250 × 75 ft, macadam
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 18
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14 total · 14 in this make and model · 14 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 65 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.