- Date
- April 18, 1996, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cheyenne, WY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N733FFCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960418047429A
- Case key
- 42356
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 during the landing and improper recovery from the subsequent bounced landing. A factor relating to the accident was: the pilot's failure to maintain the proper approach path during the approach for 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 pilot stated that he was practicing touch-and-goes at the airport. One of the approaches was 'steeper than normal,' and the pilot landed 'flat.' The airplane porpoised, and the propeller blades contacted the ground. The pilot then executed a go-around, re-entered the traffic pattern, and landed uneventfully. After the flight, the pilot noticed damage to the propeller blades and alerted the operator. No preimpact mechanical malfunction was reported by the pilot. A detailed inspection of the airplane revealed a wrinkle in the firewall and a bend in the fuselage nose gear support structure.
Factual narrative
On April 18, 1996, about 1500 mountain daylight time, N733FF, a Cessna 172, operated by Sky Harbor Air Service, Inc., Cheyenne, Wyoming, landed hard in Cheyenne and was substantially damaged. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR 91.
The pilot stated that he was practicing touch-and-goes at the Cheyenne Airport. During one the approaches, the airplane "had a steeper than normal approach which I corrected, but landed 'flat.' The nose contacted and I over-corrected, creating a porpoise." The pilot stated that he then executed a go-around, re-entered the traffic pattern, and landed uneventfully back at the airport. After he taxied in and shut down the airplane, he noticed damage to the propeller blades and alerted the operator. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions were reported by the pilot. Upon detailed inspection by an FAA aviation safety inspector from Denver, Colorado, a wrinkle in the firewall and a bend in the fuselage nose gear support structure was revealed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N733FF
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268256
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sky Harbor Air Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Airport
- CYS · Cheyenne Airport, runway 12, 6,691 × 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
- 26
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 650 total · 18 in this make and model · 80 as pilot in command · 97 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.