Hilo International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Saturday, October 7, 2000 10:30 HST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses saw the airplane touch down hard and porpoise three times during the student pilot's third landing on her first solo flight. The student pilot reported that during the initial touchdown she decreased the engine power too soon for the flare and hesitated too long. Thereafter, she should have increased engine power but said she forgot what to do. The airplane engine's firewall was found bent during a subsequent airframe inspection. The student pilot's total flight time was about 29 hours.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An inadvertent pilot-induced porpoise resulting from the pilot's improper landing flare and inadequate power management.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/7/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1030
Event Time Zone Hawaii Standard Time
Event City HILO
Event State HAWAII
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96720
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport HILO INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ITO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 38
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Hawaii Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID ITO
Elevation of weather observation facility 38
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation HST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 81
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 68
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11062
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 12 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 28 2001 7:25AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3715R
NTSB Number LAX01LA008
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 17255515
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 22 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5240
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MERLIN W. DYBALL
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City HILO
Aircraft Owner State HI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96720
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name ELIZABETH S. COSSABOON
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address
Operator City HILO
Operator State HI
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 96727
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code ITO
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1015
Departure Time Zone HST
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 Nov 5 2001 4:45AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 3
Runway Length 5600
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --