Louisiana Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gonzales, Louisiana 70707
Thursday, December 18, 1997 12:15 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the dual instructional flight, on short final for the 4th touch-and-go, the 'nose of the aircraft rotated downward at an altitude of approx[imately] 20-30 feet above [the] runway.' The instructor gave a verbal command to 'pull up - pull up.' However, the main wheels, followed by the nose wheel struck the runway and the aircraft bounced as the flight instructor took control of the aircraft, applied full power, and retracted the flaps. The aircraft veered uncontrollably to the left and impacted the ground. Witnesses reported that the airplane bounced hard, the nose of the airplane pitched high (15 to 20 degrees), the airplane yawed to the left, and then the airplane entered a stall/spin and struck the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The inadvertent stall resulting from the flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed during his delayed recovery from the bounced landing. Factors were the student's failure to maintain the proper airspeed and the instructor's inadequate supervision during the landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/18/1997
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1215
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City GONZALES
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 70707
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LOUISIANA REGIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID L38
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 15
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID BTR
Elevation of weather observation facility 15
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
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 Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1339
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 18 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1607
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:42PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8426U
NTSB Number FTW98LA070
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 Unknown
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172F
Aircraft Series Identifier 172F
Aircraft Serial Number 17252326
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name EDWARD O. HILLMAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 13726 CYPRESS RIDGE AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City BATON ROUGE
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 70817
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code L38
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone CST
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 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 4000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --