- Date
- January 27, 2002, 11:40 local (16:40 UTC)
- Place
- Richmond, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9525VCessna 172R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 1, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020127001779A
- Case key
- 54087
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 recovery from a bounced landing. A factor in the accident was the pilot improper flare.
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 was returning from her first cross-country solo flight. After entering the traffic pattern and turning final, the student slowed the airplane to approximately 65 to 70 knots, and selected 30 degrees of flaps. While concentrating on her descent angle, airspeed, and centerline alignment, the student did not flare the airplane properly. The airplane touched down hard, bounced back into the air, and then touched down three more times. The student does not remember pushing the yoke forward during any of the bounces, but felt the airplane may have touched down nose wheel first. The propeller, the nose wheel assembly, and the engine firewall were all damaged during the landing.
Factual narrative
On January 27, 2002, about 1140 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172R, N9525V, was substantially damaged while landing at the Chesterfield County Airport (FCI), Richmond, Virginia. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight that departed the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO), Charlottesville, Virginia, destined for Chesterfield. A visual-flight-rules flight plan was filed and activated for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The student was returning from her first cross-country solo flight. She entered a downwind for runway 15 about midfield. Because she was following another airplane, she extended the downwind for spacing. She turned base and then final a "little faster than normal," but had extra time from extending the downwind. She slowed the airplane to approximately 65 to 70 knots, and selected 30 degrees of flaps.
While concentrating on descent angle, airspeed, and maintaining centerline alignment, the student "did not flare properly," and the airplane touched down hard. The airplane bounced back into the air, and then touched down three more times. The student does not remember pushing the yoke forward during any of the bounces, but felt the airplane may have touched down nose wheel first. The student taxied to parking, and the airplane was placed in its hangar.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the propeller displayed ground impact damage. He also observed damage to the nose wheel assembly, and several compression wrinkles on the engine firewall.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9525V
- Reported as
- Cessna 172R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17280315
- Airframe hours
- 1,596.2
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dominion Aviation Services, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 26, 2001 · 44.5 hours before
- Departed
- CHO · Charlottesville, VA
- Destination
- FCI · Richmond, VA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- FCI · Chesterfield County, runway 15, 5,500 × 100 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
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 111 total · 111 in this make and model · 7 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Observed at
- RIC, 11 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 6, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N9525V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.