LAX02LA106

Factual narrative

On March 9, 2002, about 1725 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172M, N4410R, landed hard at the Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Arizona. Double Eagle Aviation was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The instructional cross-country flight departed Casa Grande Municipal Airport, Casa Grande, Arizona, about 1640, en route to Tucson. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector interviewed the pilot, who stated that while landing, she flared high. The airplane landed hard and bounced. Instead of aborting the landing, she pulled back on the yoke, and the airplane began to porpoise. The airplane bounced off the nose gear about two more times before stopping. The airplane incurred damage to the firewall and nose gear. The airplane bounced on landing and entered a porpoise, damaging the firewall. The pilot reported that she flared high. The airplane landed hard and bounced. Instead of aborting the landing, she pulled back on the yoke, and the airplane began to porpoise. The airplane bounced off the nose gear about two more times before stopping. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12