NTSB ERA24LA181 — 2024-04-15 · Shelbyville, Tennessee, United States

Current FAA registration · N73605

Make / Model: CESSNA 172M
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19810813
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A9E3CB

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N73605 Cessna 172M None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a loss of directional control and subsequent runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The student pilot was on a solo cross-country flight and was landing at the destination airport. While on final approach, he was high, so he reduced power. Upon touchdown, the airplane bounced several times (airport security camera video showed the airplane bouncing on the runway with increasing severity). The pilot attempted to recover but lost directional control of the airplane. The airplane nosed over after traveling off the right side of the runway resulting in substantial damage to the airplane’s wings and vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of 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.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_ERA24LA181.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

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers