NTSB ERA20CA249 — 2020-07-11 · Pickens, South Carolina, United States

Current FAA registration · N737WA

Make / Model: CESSNA 172N
Year of manufacture: 1977 · 43 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19771206
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A9E701

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N737WA Cessna 172 None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's improper landing flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that while practicing touch and go landings, he “came in a little faster than normal” on the 7th landing. During touchdown, the airplane bounced several times, each bounce “harder/higher” than the previous. He attempted to perform a abort the landing but the nose landing gear struck the ground “hard” and the propeller struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions 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.

— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot
— Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Student/instructed pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA20CA249.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

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