Chatham Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chatham, Massachusetts 02633
Saturday, October 5, 1996 17:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was high, while on the final approach to land. He elected to continue the approach and not perform a go-around. During the landing, the airplane bounced twice. The pilot received his private pilot certificate the day before the accident. He had a total flight experience of 70 hours, of which 2 hours were in this same make and model of airplane. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any malfunction, nor did the pilot report any.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor relating to the accident was: the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/5/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City CHATHAM
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 02633
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CHATHAM MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CQX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 68
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1645 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID HYA
Elevation of weather observation facility 55
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 13
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1713
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 5 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1830
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:25AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3707R
NTSB Number NYC97LA002
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172H
Aircraft Series Identifier 172H
Aircraft Serial Number 17255507
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 21 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3539
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN A AMBROULT
Aircraft Owner Street Address SILVER OAK ROAD RD RR 2
Aircraft Owner City EASTHAM
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 02642
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name CAPE COD FLYING SERVICE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 240 GEORGE RYDER RD
Operator City CHATHAM
Operator State MA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 02633
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code CQX
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 6
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --