Cessna 172 N738VY

Summary

On 12 June 2020 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N738VY, operated by RPM Aero, was involved in an accident near Reedsburg, Wisconsin, 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

12 June 2020 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Reedsburg, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Reedsburg Muni (C35)

Coordinates

43.5289, -89.9831

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N738VY

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

RPM Aero

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reedsburg → Reedsburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA257

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted 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 conducting his third solo flight. He took off for a short local flight and subsequently returned to the departure airport to land. During the final approach, the student pilot stated he set 30° of flaps and was "carrying a little more airspeed than he likely should have." As he leveled out over the runway, the nose dropped before he began to flare, and the airplane began to porpoise. After three hard bounces, he was able to settle the airplane onto the runway. He taxied the airplane back to the hangar and noticed that the airplane had sustained substantial damage to the firewall and forward fuselage. The student pilot reported there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precludded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.