N974BC – CESSNA 172R – 2012-10-20 NTSB Accident Report

On October 20, 2012, a Cessna 172R (N974BC) was involved in an incident near Miami, FL. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The flight instructor's improper power management during a steep, obstacle-clearance approach, which resulted in a hard landing.

According to the flight instructor, he was demonstrating the technique required to land the airplane over a 50-foot obstacle to a short runway. At 50 feet over the runway, 60 knots airspeed, with flaps deployed, he reduced the throttle to idle and pitched the nose down to "increase airspeed" and flare the airplane prior to touchdown. Immediately after reducing the engine power to idle, the airplane "sunk" and the instructor responded with a full-throttle application. The airplane was "too close to the ground" and the engine did not respond in time to prevent a hard landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the engine firewall. The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA13CA044. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N974BC.