Cessna 172 N52632

Summary

On 24 November 2015 at about 15:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N52632, operated by W I F A (Washington Intl Flight Academy), was involved in an accident near Gaithersburg, Maryland, 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

24 November 2015 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Montgomery County Airpark (GAI)

Coordinates

39.1708, -77.1694

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N52632

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

1

Operator

W I F A (Washington Intl Flight Academy)

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gaithersburg → Gaithersburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA064

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper flare during landing, which resulted in a bounced landing, and a runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that during the second landing of his second solo flight, he flared too high above the runway. He reported that the airplane touched down, bounced twice, exited the runway to the left, bounced once in the grass and came to rest in the safety area between the runway and taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.