Cessna 172C N38RA

Summary

On 4 July 2004 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 172C registered N38RA, operated by Gateway Aviation, was involved in an accident near Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States. 4 people were 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

4 July 2004 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Pottstown Municipal (N47)

Coordinates

40.2603, -75.6708

Aircraft

Cessna 172C

Registration

N38RA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Gateway Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pottstown → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC04LA165

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot initiated a short field takeoff, with 20 degrees of flaps. He rotated the airplane at 40-50 knots, and as the airplane climbed, he began to hear the stall warning horn. The pilot reported that the airplane handled "sluggishly," and at 400 feet, he retracted the flaps to 10 degrees. He initiated a left turn back to the runway, and the airplane touched down first on the nose wheel, and then began to porpoise down the runway. The airplane bounced several times, and about the second or third bounce, the landing gear collapsed and the propeller came in contact with the ground. The pilot reported no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane. Additionally, he reported 150 hours of total flight experience, 1 hour of which was in the make and model of the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.