NTSB ERA25LA148 — 2025-03-09 · Brooksville, Florida, United States

Current FAA registration · N740SP

Make / Model: CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture: 2000 · 25 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING I0360 SER A&C (200 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20001211
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A9F428

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N740SP Cessna 172 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing and substantial damage to the airplane’s fuselage.

Factual narrative

The student pilot was on a solo instructional flight in the airport traffic pattern. She approached the runway and described that the airplane touched down on both main landing gear and that the nosewheel touched down almost immediately thereafter. The airplane then bounced three times, which each bounce being harder than the last. After the last bounce, the pilot taxied off the runway uneventfully. The underside of the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no 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.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_ERA25LA148.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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