- Date
- June 29, 1996, 10:52 local (17:52 UTC)
- Place
- Camarillo, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9408LCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960629016049A
- Case key
- 29486
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 misjudged the landing flare resulting in a hard landing. A factor in the accident was high airspeed.
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 was number 2 to land behind another aircraft on the runway. The pilot made several power adjustments to slow the airplane to increase the spacing while on final approach. The pilot then increased power to stay above stall speed. As the airplane flew over the runway threshold the speed was too high and the pilot misjudged the flare and bounced hard during touchdown.
Factual narrative
On June 29, 1996, at 1052 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172, N9408L, collided with runway 26 at the Camarillo, California, airport. The airplane was being operated by Sun Air Aviation, Inc., Camarillo, as an instructional flight when the accident occurred. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the student pilot was not injured. The local flight originated from the Camarillo airport. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time.
The pilot indicated on his accident report he was number 2 to land behind another aircraft on runway 26. He made several power adjustments to slow the airplane and increase his spacing. He then increased power to stay above stall speed. He believed that as he flew over the runway threshold the speed was too great. The pilot indicated he misjudged the flare and bounced hard during touchdown.
Postflight examination of the airplane revealed the firewall had been bent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9408L
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-76551
- Airframe hours
- 7,761
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-1D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Sun Air Aviaition, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Lawrence, Oscar L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 28, 1996 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- CMA
- Airport
- CMA · Camarillo, runway 26, 6,010 × 150 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
- 51
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 23 total · 23 in this make and model · 19 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CMA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.