DFW05CA100

Factual narrative

On April 3, 2005, about 1430 central daylight time, a Cessna 172L single-engine airplane, N3889Q, owned by a private individual, sustained substantial damage following a hard landing at the Clark Field Municipal Airport (SEP), near Stephenville, Texas. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The cross-country flight originated at the Collin County Regional Airport (TKI), near McKinney, Texas, approximately 1245, with SEP as its intended destination. In a written statement, the 123-hour private pilot reported that she entered a left downwind for runway 14 (a 4,200-foot by 75-foot asphalt runway), at SEP and proceeded to fly a left traffic pattern. She reported that, on final, the airplane had 20 degrees of flaps and was traveling at approximately 70 miles per hour. She felt "a little high and fast on final and was making throttle and pitch corrections." She was " pulling back slightly on the yoke when the rear wheels touched down, but the airplane porpoised and came off the ground." The pilot "attempted to fly the airplane just above the runway to allow it to settle back down on the runway when the damaging bounce occurred." The pilot then elected to abort the landing, added full power, and took off. She continued around the traffic pattern, landed successfully, and taxied the airplane to parking. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector who responded to the accident, there was structural damage to the firewall. Additionally, the nose wheel cover was damaged. At 1445, the automated weather observing system at SEP reported wind from 180 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 18 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, a clear sky, temperature 73 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 33 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure setting of 30.01 inches of Mercury. The 123-hour private pilot entered a left downwind for runway 14 (a 4,200-foot by 75-foot asphalt runway), and proceeded to fly a left traffic pattern. On final approach, the airplane had 20 degrees of flaps and was traveling at approximately 70 miles per hour. During touch down the airplane "porpoised and came off the ground." The pilot elected to abort the landing and then proceeded around the traffic pattern. After landing successfully, the pilot taxied the airplane to parking. The wind at the time of the mishap was from 180 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 18 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12