Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hawthorne, California 90250
Thursday, May 20, 2004 20:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane landed hard during night conditions. The pilot said that he flared the airplane higher than normal. The airplane stalled about 10 feet above ground level, and the nose of the airplane to rapidly dropped, resulting in the nose wheel impacting the runway surface hard. The pilot had accumulated a total of 3.5 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's misjudged flare and failure to maintain adequate airspeed, resulting in a stall and hard landing. Factors in the accident were the night conditions and the pilot's lack of familiarity in the make and model of airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/20/2004
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2045
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Hawthorne
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90250
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 335522N
Event Location Longitude 1182006W
Event Location Airport Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KHHR
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 66
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2053 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID HHR
Elevation of weather observation facility 59
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Night
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
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) 16136
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
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 --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N758ND
NTSB Number LAX04CA219
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 --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model R172K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number R1723221
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 27 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 103.3
Airframe Hours 4215.3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name A & E Flying Club of Los Angeles, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Hawthorne
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
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 KHHR
Departure City Hawthorne
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Hawthorne
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 16 2004 3:53PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 4956
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --