Summary
On June 12, 2007, a Cessna 172G (N4260L) was involved in an incident near Katy, TX. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The student pilot's improper flare and his failure to recover from a bounced landing.
The airplane landed hard, bounced, encountered porpoise, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The 43-hour student pilot reported that he was returning from his first solo cross-country flight. He added that while landing on runway 16, which was reported to be 7,000-foot long, by 150-foot wide, he misjudged the height of the airplane above the runway and the airplane stalled at dropped-in from a height of 10-feet. After the initial bounce, the aircraft began to porpoise, and the nose landing gear collapsed after the second bounce. The pilot attempted to taxi the airplane off the active runway. According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who responded to the accident, the engine firewall sustained structural damage.
This incident is documented in NTSB report DFW07CA140. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N4260L.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The student pilot's improper flare and his failure to recover from a bounced landing.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
The airplane landed hard, bounced, encountered porpoise, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The 43-hour student pilot reported that he was returning from his first solo cross-country flight. He added that while landing on runway 16, which was reported to be 7,000-foot long, by 150-foot wide, he misjudged the height of the airplane above the runway and the airplane stalled at dropped-in from a height of 10-feet. After the initial bounce, the aircraft began to porpoise, and the nose landing gear collapsed after the second bounce. The pilot attempted to taxi the airplane off the active runway. According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who responded to the accident, the engine firewall sustained structural damage. The impact also fractured the nose gear assembly and buckled the engine firewall. The pilot was uninjured and was able to egress from the airplane unassisted. At the time of the accident, the on-field weather observation station reported the wind from 170 degree at 4 knots.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# DFW07CA140