Scottsdale Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
Sunday, July 29, 2001 16:25 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After touchdown the airplane bounced into the air, landed hard, and collapsed the nose landing gear. The purpose of the flight was to practice touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The pilot had been conducting closed pattern work for an hour, and indicated that there were no mechanical difficulties with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's misjudged landing flare, which lead to a hard landing, inadvertent porpoise, and his improper recovery from a bounced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/29/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1625
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Scottsdale
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85260
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 333737N
Event Location Longitude 1115400W
Event Location Airport SCOTTSDALE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SDL
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 1510
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1545 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID SDL
Elevation of weather observation facility 1510
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 15000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 37
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 11593
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 31 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 14 2002 9:31AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3532T
NTSB Number LAX01LA267
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 172S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S8820
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jun 13 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 83
Airframe Hours 177
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James B. Elia
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Gilbert
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85234
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
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 SDL
Departure City Scottsdale
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone TL
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SDL
Destination City Scottsdale
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2002 2:55PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21
Runway Length 8249
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --