Napa County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Napa, California 94558
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 14:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot was on a solo training flight. The student flew in the local practice area and then returned to the departure airport for touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The student completed one landing uneventfully. On the second landing, as the student flared, the airplane ballooned to approximately 20 feet above ground level. The airplane dropped hard and the nose and right wing impacted the runway, followed by the left wing. A postaccident examination revealed that the wing spar sustained substantial damage. The student reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/28/2011
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Napa
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 94558
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 381247N
Event Location Longitude 1221650W
Event Location Airport Napa County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID APC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 35
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1354 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID APC
Elevation of weather observation facility 35
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 --
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) 35
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
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) 29.92
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) 29110
NTSB Notification Source FAA AWP Ops Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 23 2011 1:44PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N21284
NTSB Number WPR11CA472
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17281178
Certified Max Gross Weight 2450
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Sep 14 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 28
Airframe Hours 1467
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name IASCO FLIGHT TRAINING INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 210 TWIN DOLPHIN DR STE B
Aircraft Owner City REDWOOD CITY
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94065-1402
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name IASCO FLIGHT TRAINING INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 210 TWIN DOLPHIN DR STE B
Operator City REDWOOD CITY
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 94065-1402
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 APC
Departure City Napa
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1250
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code APC
Destination City Napa
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2011 8:26PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18R
Runway Length 5930
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --