NTSB ERA26LA016 — 2025-10-03 · Bluffton, Ohio, United States

Current FAA registration · N64203

Make / Model: CESSNA 172M
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19750326
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A86F1D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N64203 Cessna 172 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing.

Factual narrative

The student pilot was practicing solo takeoffs and landings in the airport traffic pattern. During the landing flare of her second traffic pattern circuit, the pilot attempted a landing flare, but instead of holding the airplane’s nosewheel above the runway, she allowed the nose wheel to contact the runway. The pilot then pulled back on the yoke in order to soften the landing, but the airplane climbed and again contacted the runway with the nosewheel first two more times before the airplane came to a stop on the runway. The airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot stated 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.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_ERA26LA016.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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