Probable cause
The flight instructor’s improper recovery from a bounced landing.
NTSB analysis
The flight instructor was demonstrating a landing to the student when the airplane landed “very hard”, bounced once and then landed on the nose gear. The flight instructor immediately shut down the engine and discovered the control yoke was jammed in the full aft position. The hard landing caused substantial damage to the forward firewall and the lower forward fuselage which jammed the elevator control mechanism. The two occupants were not injured and immediately exited the airplane.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN10CA132 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Feb 28, 2010
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Davis, Oklahoma
- Nearest airport
- Crazy Horse Municipal Airport (97F)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 172
- N-number
- N72TN
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.