Cessna 172 N64203

Summary

On 3 October 2025 at about 17:10 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N64203, operated by Bluffton Flying Service, was involved in an accident near Bluffton, Ohio, 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

3 October 2025 at 17:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Bluffton, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Bluffton (5G7)

Coordinates

40.8854, -83.8686

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N64203

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Bluffton Flying Service

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bluffton → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA26LA016

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was practicing solo takeoffs and landings in the airport traffic pattern. During the landing flare of her second traffic pattern circuit, the pilot attempted a landing flare, but instead of holding the airplane’s nosewheel above the runway, she allowed the nose wheel to contact the runway. The pilot then pulled back on the yoke in order to soften the landing, but the airplane climbed and again contacted the runway with the nosewheel first two more times before the airplane came to a stop on the runway. The airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.