NTSB CEN20CA257 — 2020-06-12 · Reedsburg, Wisconsin, United States

Current FAA registration · N738VY

Make / Model: CESSNA 172N
Year of manufacture: 1978 · 42 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19780202
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A9EAB5

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N738VY Cessna 172 None

Probable cause & findings

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

Factual narrative

The student pilot was conducting his third solo flight. He took off for a short local flight and subsequently returned to the departure airport to land. During the final approach, the student pilot stated he set 30° of flaps and was "carrying a little more airspeed than he likely should have." As he leveled out over the runway, the nose dropped before he began to flare, and the airplane began to porpoise. After three hard bounces, he was able to settle the airplane onto the runway. He taxied the airplane back to the hangar and noticed that the airplane had sustained substantial damage to the firewall and forward fuselage. The student pilot reported there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precludded 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-Student/instructed 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_CEN20CA257.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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