- Date
- December 27, 2003, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Bluffton, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N363SACessna 172R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbus FSDO
- FAA report
- 20031227034059A
- Case key
- 58550
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 inadequate recovery from a bounced 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
During landing, the student pilot experienced an "unexpected wind gust." The airplane was lifted upward, and then impacted the runway "very hard." The airplane then bounced and came to rest on the nose wheel first, causing the landing gear strut to bend and the propeller to impact the runway. The student pilot stated that he was "too relaxed" during the landing, and should have accelerated to avoid impacting the runway hard. He reported 38 hours of total flight experience at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On December 27, 2003, at 1530 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172R, N363SA, was substantially damaged while landing at the Bluffton Airport (5G7), Bluffton, Ohio. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight which originated at the Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport (MFD), Mansfield, Ohio. The solo instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the student pilot, during landing on runway 23 at Bluffton, the airplane was hit by an "unexpected wind gust." The airplane was lifted upward, and then impacted the runway "very hard." The airplane then bounced and came to rest on the nose wheel first, causing the landing gear strut to bend and the propeller to impact the runway.
The student pilot stated that he was "too relaxed" during the landing, and should have accelerated to avoid impacting the runway hard. He reported 38 hours of total flight experience at the time of the accident.
The winds reported at FDY, 12 miles to the northeast of Bluffton, at 1556, were from 150 degrees at 7 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N363SA
- Reported as
- Cessna 172R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-80756
- Airframe hours
- 1,523
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 160 horsepower
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- AVX Flight Center
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 17, 2003 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- MFD · Mansfield, OH
- Destination
- 5G7 · Bluffton, OH
- Airport
- 5G7 · Bluffton, runway 23
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
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 38 total · 38 in this make and model · 8 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.27 inHg
- Observed at
- FDY
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.