FTW97LA318

Factual narrative

On August 18, 1997, approximately 0630 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 175, N7518M, was substantially damaged during landing at Rock Springs, Wyoming. The commercial rated-flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Rock Springs approximately 0610. In a telephone interview, the pilot said he had been having trouble with landings, and he asked the instructor to give him additional dual instruction. They were practicing touch and go landings. The first landing went without incident. The second landing was to be a no-flap landing. The pilot said his approach was "steep and slow." He was slow in flaring the airplane, and the instructor took control but not before the airplane made a hard landing. In his accident report, the pilot said he reduced power at 500 feet agl (above ground level) when it appeared the landing was assured. Approximately 30 feet agl, the instructor applied full power "to compensate for steep approach and no flare." As the airplane responded to the power increase, the pilot abruptly initiated a flare and entered an accelerated stall. The airplane contacted the ground at a steep angle, bounced, touched down again, and made a "normal" landing roll. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. aircraft damage consisted of a bent right main landing gear, buckled nose landing gear, and firewall damage. The student pilot was practicing touch and go landings with an instructor. He made a no-flap, steep landing approach at low airspeed. He was slow in flaring the airplane. The instructor took control, but not before the airplane made a hard landing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12