FTW02LA068

Factual narrative

On January 12, 2002, at 1446 central standard time, a Cessna 172S airplane, N497SJ, registered to and operated by Sugar Land Aviation, Houston, Texas, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while landing roll out on runway 35 at the Sugar Land Airport, Houston, Texas. The solo student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight. The local training flight originated at the Sugar Land Airport at 1335. The student pilot stated that while executing a full stop landing, he reduced power going into the "flare" and "pulled" the controls back while applying right rudder. The airplane then touched down on the nose gear and "bounced." He then added power to recover; however, the airplane veered off the right side of the runway and flipped over. Post accident examination of the airplane reveled that the nose langing gear was torn off the airframe, the engine firewall sustained structural damage and both wing spars were bent. The operator reported that the 36 year old pilot had accumulated a total of 99 flight hours, 71 hours in the same make and model. The student was operating under a 90-day solo endorsement by his flight instructor. The winds at the time of the accident were reported from 340 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 17 knots. The student pilot stated that while executing a full stop landing, he reduced power going into the "flare" and "pulled" the controls back. The airplane then touched down on the nose gear and "bounced." He then added power to recover; however, the airplane veered off the right side of the runway and nosed over. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12