Cessna 172S N21670

Summary

On 27 January 2014 at about 15:00 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N21670, operated by Rexair Sales & Leasing LLC, was involved in an accident near Immokalee, Florida, 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

27 January 2014 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Immokalee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Immokalee Regional (IMM)

Coordinates

26.4339, -81.4014

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N21670

Category

Airplane

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

Rexair Sales & Leasing LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Immokalee → Immokalee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14CA109

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper landing 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

According to the flight instructor and the student pilot, they flew from their home airport to another airport where the student pilot completed four landings without the flight instructor touching the controls. After the fourth landing, the flight instructor got out of the airplane so the student pilot could complete three solo takeoffs and landings. The first two landings were uneventful; however, according to the student pilot, just before the landing flare for the third landing, the airplane was "pushed" to the left side of the runway, "possibly by a wind gust," then landed hard. The flight instructor noted that during the approach, the airplane appeared to be slower than normal, followed by a hard landing. The main landing gear touched down first, then there was a "gallop on the nose wheel," and the airplane bounced twice before all landing gear were on the ground. The flight instructor subsequently performed a partial inspection the airplane, determined there was no damage, and the two flew it back to their home airport. During a subsequent rental, at an en route stop, another pilot noted propeller damage, and further inspection revealed firewall damage. Neither the flight instructor nor the student pilot reported any preexisting mechanical anomalies or damage to the airplane. Wind, recorded about the time of the accident, was 10 degrees from the right of runway heading, at 6 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.