Aviation Crash Map

Cessna 172S N970SP

25 July 2003 · Olive Branch, Mississippi, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 25 July 2003 at about 23:10 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N970SP was involved in an accident near Olive Branch, Mississippi, 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.

The record

Date
at 23:10
Classification
Accident
Location
Olive Branch, Mississippi, United States
Coordinates
34.9786, -89.7869
Aircraft
Cessna 172S
Registration
N970SP
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Instructional
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Olive Branch → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
MIA03CA148

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

The student pilot's improper landing flare/touchdown and inadequate recovery from a bounced landing which resulted in a hard landing and damage to the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot stated that as he approached the runway to perform the landing flare/touchdown he reduced engine power and applied back pressure to the control yoke until the main landing gear touched the runway. He said as he continued to apply back pressure after having touched down, the airplane became airborne again, so he relaxed back pressure to flare again, but upon touching the ground the airplane bounced back into the air. He said there were additional attempts to perform the landing flare, but each time successive bounces occurred. During the last attempt, the student said he added a small amount of power in an attempt to recover and the airplane first impacted on its main landing gear, then it "abruptly" impacted on the nose gear as well. The airplane then leaned forward, and remained on the ground, while at a speed of about 20 knots, incurring damage to the propeller, nose gear and firewall. According to the student, prior to the accident there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions to the airplane or any of its systems.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Cessna 172 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
25 Dec 2003 Cessna 172RG
N4721R
Key West, Florida, United States Avion Jet Center, LLC No injuries -
16 Mar 2003 Cessna 172N
N5315D
Foley, Minnesota, United States - Fatal 3
12 Jul 2003 Cessna 172S
N5327G
Chandler, Arizona, United States Angel Air No injuries -
18 Jan 2003 Cessna 172
N6312E
Chesapeake, Virginia, United States - No injuries -
21 Mar 2003 Cessna 172S
N219ME
Monroe, Georgia, United States Elite Flight Center Fatal 2
22 Aug 2003 Cessna 172S
N53033
Lake Elmo, Minnesota, United States Wings, Inc. Fatal 3

All 12,209 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
3 May 2003 Piper PA-22-150
N175W
Madison, Mississippi, United States Anthony G. Hinkle No injuries -
21 Nov 2003 Beechcraft G35
N4214D
Okolona, Mississippi, United States - Fatal 3
4 Oct 2003 Cessna 180K
N77NP
Starkville, Mississippi, United States Nolan D. Palmer No injuries -
12 Jun 2003 Piper PA-32R-301
N232HC
Carthage, Mississippi, United States Dominick C. Riso Fatal 2
21 Mar 2003 Cessna 172P
N89811
Potts Camp, Mississippi, United States - No injuries -
13 May 2003 Wsk Pzl Mielec M-18A
N82204
Baxterville, Mississippi, United States Canam Aviators Inc. No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States