NTSB CEN20CA241 — 2020-06-12 · Bowling Green, Missouri, United States

Current FAA registration · N65773

Make / Model: CESSNA 172P
Year of manufacture: 1982 · 38 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19821124
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A8AA24

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N65773 Cessna 172 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that on two landing attempts, the airplane touched down hard and bounced multiple times. After the second landing attempt, the pilot aborted the landing and diverted to another airport. Five flight-legs later, the pilot returned to the airplane's rental location and noticed that the tail tie down fell off when he attempted to tie down the airplane. Further examination revealed substantial damage to the tail. The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_CEN20CA241.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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