Tampa North Aero Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lutz, Florida 33549
Saturday, February 21, 2004 13:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot reported he was practicing landings. During the landing flare on the accident landing, the airplane ballooned and then landed hard, collapsing the nose landing gear and incurring structural damage to the fuselage firewall bulkhead. The student pilot said there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's misjudged landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent collapse of the nose landing gear.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/21/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1330
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Lutz
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33549
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 281317N
Event Location Longitude 0822228W
Event Location Airport TAMPA NORTH AERO PARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID X39
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 68
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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) 15970
NTSB Notification Source
NTSB Notification Date Feb 24 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1420
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Tampa, FL

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N612CB
NTSB Number ANC04LA029
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 17275186
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 Jan 23 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 16
Airframe Hours 4239
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Helicopter Structural Maint. Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4241 Birdsong Blvd.
Aircraft Owner City Lutz
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33549
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Lutz
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code X39
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 24 2004 2:28PM
User who most recently changed record PETL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 3541
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --