- Date
- February 12, 2004, 17:05 local (22:05 UTC)
- Place
- Easton, MD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N734ATCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20040212001829A
- Case key
- 58807
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's improper flare, which resulted in a hard 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
The student pilot was conducting supervised solo flights. While landing, he "accidentally" struck the runway with the propeller. The airplane was then taxied to the ramp area, and secured. According to the student pilot's flight instructor, who was supervising the solo flights, the airplane appeared to flare too high and began to porpoise.
Factual narrative
On February 12, 2004, at 1705 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172N, N734AT, was substantially damaged while landing at the Easton Airport (ESN), Easton, Maryland. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the student pilot, he was conducting supervised solo flights. While landing on runway 22, he "accidentally" struck the runway with the propeller. The airplane was then taxied to the ramp area, and secured.
According to the student pilot's flight instructor, who was supervising the solo flights, the airplane appeared to flare too high and began to porpoise.
Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the firewall.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N734AT
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268708
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Navy Annapolis Flight Center Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ESN · Easton, MD
- Airport
- ESN · Easton Airport, runway 22, 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 22
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10 total · 10 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Observed at
- ADW
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 N734AT · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.