MIA05CA121

Factual narrative

On May 5, 2004, about 0900 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172SP, N66113, registered to and operated by Clearwater Airpark Flight School Inc, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, incurred a hard landing in Clearwater, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The private-rated pilot and one passenger were not injured, and the airplane incurred substantial damage. The flight originated from the Clearwater Air Park, Clearwater, Florida, earlier that day at an unspecified time. The pilot stated that he was flying traffic patterns and was practicing landings to a full stop. His first landing was satisfactory, just landing beyond the runway numbers. The second traffic pattern was again satisfactory until the he was on short final approach. His airspeed was too high, and the airplane touched down just passed the runway numbers and bounced "high". He misjudged the severity of the bounced landing and failed to apply engine power to correct the situation. The airplane immediately started to porpoise, and became "uncontrollable". The pilot stated there were no mechanical failures or malfunction to the airplane or any of it's systems prior to the accident. The pilot stated that he was flying traffic patterns and was practicing landings to a full stop. His first landing was satisfactory, just landing beyond the runway numbers. The second traffic pattern was again satisfactory until he was on short final approach. His airspeed was too high, and the airplane touched down just passed the runway numbers and bounced "high". He misjudged the severity of the bounced landing and failed to apply engine power to correct the situation. The airplane immediately started to porpoise, and became "uncontrollable". The pilot stated there were no mechanical failures or malfunction to the airplane or any of it's systems prior to the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12