Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Torrance Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Torrance, California 90505
Thursday, April 19, 2001 9:04 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During a touch-and-go landing, the aircraft veered off the runway, encountered soft terrain, and nosed over. No skid marks were found leading to the accident site. The tires were examined and no flat spots were observed. The airplane was uprighted and rolled to see if there was any resistance from the brakes. None was noted. The brakes were inspected and operated with no defects observed. The wind was calm at the time of the accident. The pilot received his private certificate on April 4, 2001, and had approximately 78 hours total time when the accident occurred. All of the pilot's primary flight training experience was accrued in the Katana DA-20 airplane. After obtaining his private pilot certificate, the pilot received 3.7 hours of flight instruction in the Cessna 172, and had logged an additional 2.4 hours of flight time prior to the accident. A flight instructor from the same flight school flew with the pilot in another Cessna 172 the day after the accident. He stated that the pilot had a tendency to land very flat, with no flare. The instructor was experienced in both the Katana DA-20 and the Cessna 172. He stated that the landing characteristics of the Katana require little or no flare by the pilot. In contrast, the Cessna 172 requires a considerable amount of flare to achieve a proper touchdown attitude. Since the pilot had received all of his primary training in a Katana, his tendency in any airplane would be to land it like a Katana. In the event of a nose first landing, the airplane will "wheel barrow" and can become nearly impossible to control. This landing condition can easily result in a rapid and uncontrollable change in direction on the runway.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of the pilot-in-command to execute a proper landing flare, which resulted in an improper touchdown attitude and a subsequent loss of directional control. A factor in the accident was the difference between landing characteristics of the Katana and the Cessna 172, and the resulting habit interference for the pilot.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/19/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 904 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Torrance |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 90505 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Torrance Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TOA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 101 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 855 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TOA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 101 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1200 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 15 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.4 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 125 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 10282 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 19 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1400 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 30 2001 11:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-FSDO Long Beach, CA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N97984 |
| NTSB Number | LAX01LA150 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17276244 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2400 |
| 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 | Nov 15 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 80 |
| Airframe Hours | 4792 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Chuck Smith |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3201 Airport Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Torrance |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 90505 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Richard Seals |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 3201 Airport Drive |
| Operator City | Torrance |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 90505 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | TOA |
| Departure City | Torrance |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 830 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | TOA |
| Destination City | Torrance |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - flare/touchdown |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 25 2001 4:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 29R |
| Runway Length | 5000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |