- Date
- March 27, 1997, 10:23 local (15:23 UTC)
- Place
- Pompano Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5123HCessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970327010039A
- Case key
- 38238
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 improper flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in overload failure of the nose gear.
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
After a student pilot made an approach for the third and final landing, the airplane touched down and began to porpoise. The student did not apply power, and the porpoising continued 4 or 5 times until the nose landing gear collapsed.
Factual narrative
On March 27, 1997, about 1023 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172M, N5123H, registered to Sun Flight International, Inc., was substantially damaged on landing at the Pompano Beach Airpark, Pompano Beach, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 61 instructional flight. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated about 5 minutes earlier from the Pompano Beach Airpark.
According to the operator of the airplane, the flight was the student's second supervised solo flight and after touchdown for the third and final landing, the airplane started to porpoise. The student did not apply power to go around and the airplane came to rest on the edge of the runway. Damage to the firewall and rear spar of the left wing was noted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5123H
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17265343
- Airframe hours
- 3,485
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Airborne Systems
- Registered owner
- Sun Flight International, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 26, 1997 · 54 hours before
- Departed
- PMP
- Airport
- PMP · Pompano Beach Airpark, runway 32, 4,419 × 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
- 35
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 27 total · 27 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PMP
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.