MIA97LA030

Factual narrative

On November 24, 1996, about 1300 central standard time, a Cessna 172N, N739ZA, registered to Wings, Inc., was damaged during a hard landing at Olive Branch Airport, Olive Branch, Mississippi, while on a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft received substantial damage and the student pilot was not injured. The flight originated from Olive Branch, the same day, about 1200. The pilot stated he was performing takeoffs and landings. On the last landing the aircraft "ballooned" and then landed hard at which time the aircraft was damaged. The pilot stated he had no mechanical problems with the aircraft. The student pilot stated that after making an approach to runway 18, '. . . the airplane ballooned on the landing and I could not keep it on the ground . . . .' The airplane then touched down hard and was damaged. The wind was reported to be from 170 degrees at 15 gusting 17 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12