- Date
- August 8, 2025, 09:04 local (15:04 UTC)
- Place
- Ronan, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N734SWCessna 172N
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 17, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250808010589A
- Case key
- 200741
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 inadequate landing flare and recovery from a bounced landing.
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 purpose of the flight was for the student pilot to perform a solo cross-country and land at the accident airport. The student pilot stated that following a stabilized approach, he did not properly maneuver the airplane into a flare. The airplane touched down hard on the runway surface and bounced back into the air. The airplane then touched down again and then bounced multiple times, porpoising along the runway. As a result of the impact, the airplane incurred damage to the firewall. The student pilot noted that he failed to add engine power to correct the self-induced oscillation. He stated that there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N734SW
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17269086
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 15,863
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Red Eagle Aviation
- Registered owner
- Sierra Sky Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 16, 2025 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- S27 · Kalispell, MT
- Airport
- 7S0 · Ronan, runway 16/34, 4,798 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 17
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 37 total · 37 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- 7S0
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 17, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 MB 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.