- Date
- July 24, 1995, 10:53 local (14:53 UTC)
- Place
- Teterboro, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N51081Cessna 172P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950724048919A
- Case key
- 39013
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 the airplane porpoising and the subsequent buckling of the firewall.
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 practicing touch and go landings. During the second landing, the airplane porpoised down the runway, and touched down on the nose wheel. The student pilot stated, '...finally, I managed to keep the plane on [the] ground....I shut off everything and stepped out....' Postaccident examination revealed the firewall was buckled, and no preimpact anomalies with the engine or airframe. Additionally, the winds at the time of the accident were reported as calm.
Factual narrative
On July 24, 1995, about 1053 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N51081, sustained substantial damage during the landing, at the Teterboro Airport, Teterboro, New Jersey. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight operated by Freund Air Inc. There was no flight plan for the local flight conducted under CFR 14 Part 91.
The student pilot reported in the NTSB form 6120.1/2, that he was practicing touch and go landings at Teterboro. During the second landing the airplane bounced down the runway. The student stated, "...Finally, I managed to keep the plane on [the] ground....I shut off everything and stepped out."
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, the student pilot performed a landing on runway 19. During the landing, the airplane porpoised on the runway, bounced a few times, and the nose wheel struck the runway.
Postaccident investigation by the FAA Inspector revealed that the firewall was buckled, and the nosewheel tire had blown. Furthermore, no preimpact anomalies were found with the engine or airframe.
The winds at Teterboro Airport were reported at 1045 as calm.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51081
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274264
- Airframe hours
- 6,802
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Air Fleet Training Systems
- Registered owner
- Freun Air Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 5, 1995 · 28 hours before
- Departed
- TEB
- Airport
- TEB · Teterboro, runway 19, 7,000 × 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
- 28
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 58 total · 58 in this make and model · 4 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 11 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TEB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.