- Date
- June 30, 2010, 20:08 local (Jul 1, 2010, 02:08 UTC)
- Place
- Twin Falls, ID
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N64427Cessna 172M
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 21, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100630036539A
- Case key
- 76508
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 landing flare.
Findings · 2
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 pilot reported that on landing he touched down on the main landing gear but with the nose low. The airplane ballooned slightly, and the pilot applied power to ease the descent. The main landing gear touched down a second time and the pilot held "as much back pressure" as he could on the yoke. When the nose gear touched the ground the pilot heard a "grinding" noise and the airplane "began to buck," then veered to the left but stayed on the runway. The propeller then struck the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall. When the pilot climbed out of the airplane, he observed that the nose gear tire was flat and the oleo strut was empty of fluid. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure with the airplane before the accident.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that on landing he touched down on the main landing gear but with the nose low. The airplane ballooned slightly, and the pilot applied power to ease the descent. The main landing gear touched down a second time and the pilot held "as much back pressure" as he could on the yoke. When the nose gear touched the ground the pilot heard a "grinding" noise and the airplane "began to buck," then veered to the left but stayed on the runway. The propeller then struck the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall. When the pilot climbed out of the airplane, he observed that the nose gear tire was flat and the oleo strut was empty of fluid. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure with the airplane before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N64427
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17265219
- Airframe hours
- 9,823
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- AvCenter Inc.
- Registered owner
- Teton Leasing LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 21, 2010
- Departed
- KBOI · Boise, ID
- Destination
- KTWF · Twin Falls, ID
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- KTWF · Magic Valley, runway 25, 8,703 × 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 24
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 33 total · 33 in this make and model · 4 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.86 inHg
- Observed at
- TWF
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 3, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 601 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.
Other investigations on N64427 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.