Cessna 172N N733AM

Summary

On 21 December 2002 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N733AM was involved in an accident near Pacoima, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 December 2002 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pacoima, California, United States

Nearest airport

Whiteman Airport (WHP)

Coordinates

34.2656, -118.4136

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N733AM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pacoima → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03LA053

Nobody was injured.

the student pilot's excessive use of the elevator control that resulted in an inadvertent lift-off and his failure to maintain/attain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall and hard landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane experienced a hard landing. The student pilot was on his first solo flight and attempting to perform practice touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. On final approach the airplane was higher than normal, but the student pilot touched down without mishap. While on the landing roll, the airplane became airborne, climbing to about 15 to 20 feet above ground level. The airplane stalled and returned back down to the runway surface, hitting hard, with the nose wheel touching down first. The student pilot stated that he thought that he had applied too much backpressure on the yoke. The operator reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.