Merritt Island Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Merritt Island, Florida 32952
Friday, July 12, 2002 9:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A student pilot practicing short field landings landed hard. The airplane bounced back into the air and the pilot did not add power to go around. The airplane then came back down hard on the nose wheel leaving damage to the firewall and cabin floor.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper recovery after a bounced landing and improper landing flare which resulted in the airplane colliding with the runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/12/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Merritt Island
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32952
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 282050N
Event Location Longitude 0804113W
Event Location Airport Merritt Island
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KCOI
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 7
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 856 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 178
Weather Observation Facility ID MIA
Elevation of weather observation facility 8
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 154
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.99
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) 14773
NTSB Notification Source Miami FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Jul 15 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 5 2004 4:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Miami FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N54119
NTSB Number ATL02LA140
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 17274883
Certified Max Gross Weight 2407
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 May 7 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 32.6
Airframe Hours 11570
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David B. Rodger
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4482 Bowstring Ct.
Aircraft Owner City Tittusville
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32796
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Voyager Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 900 Airport Road
Operator City Merritt Island
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 32952
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code COI
Departure City Merritt Island
Departure State KY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 900
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code COI
Destination City Merritt Island
Destination State FL
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 2 2003 3:31PM
User who most recently changed record POWP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 110
Runway Length 3601
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --