- Date
- May 12, 2010, 19:30 local (May 13, 2010, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Corvallis, OR
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N66083Cessna 172S
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100512033659A
- Case key
- 76000
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 use of the flight and engine controls, resulting in a bounced landing.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The private pilot receiving instruction reported that during the proficiency training flight, he was seated in the right front seat position while the flight instructor was in the left seat. Following a normal approach for landing, he felt the airplane begin to sink about three to five feet above the runway and attempted to compensate with flight control inputs. The pilot stated that the "automatic (almost subconscious) reaction was to push in the throttle with his right hand and pull back on the yoke with his left hand slightly," which, due to his right seated position, resulted in his right hand pushing the nose down and his left hand pulling back on the throttle thus reducing power. Subsequently, the airplane struck the ground and bounced back into the air. The pilot initiated a go-around followed by the flight instructor taking control of the airplane and landing uneventfully. Post accident examination of the airplane by the pilot and an airframe and power plant mechanic revealed that the engine firewall was structurally damaged. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
The private pilot receiving instruction reported that during the proficiency training flight, he was seated in the right front seat position while the flight instructor was in the left seat. Following a normal approach for landing, he felt the airplane begin to sink about three to five feet above the runway and attempted to compensate with flight control inputs. The pilot stated that the "automatic (almost subconscious) reaction was to push in the throttle with his right hand and pull back on the yoke with his left hand slightly," which, due to his right seated position, resulted in his right hand pushing the nose down and his left hand pulling back on the throttle thus reducing power. Subsequently, the airplane struck the ground and bounced back into the air. The pilot initiated a go-around followed by the flight instructor taking control of the airplane and landing uneventfully. Post accident examination of the airplane by the pilot and an airframe and power plant mechanic revealed that the engine firewall was structurally damaged. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N66083
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S9938
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- David Duane Ayres
- Registered owner
- 2265 LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CVO · Corvallis, OR
- Destination
- CVO · Corvallis, OR
- Airport
- CVO · Corvallis Municipal Airport, runway 27, 3,545 × 75 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 19, 2009
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 724 total · 168 in this make and model · 49 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 16, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,787 total · 570 in this make and model · 2,719 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
- Observed at
- CVO
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 6, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 736 KB 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.