Probable cause
The student pilot's improper flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing.
NTSB analysis
The solo student pilot reported that she was practicing takeoffs and landings. During landing, the airplane touched down hard and bounced back into the air. It then stalled and porpoised several times, before the nosegear collapsed and the airplane came to rest upright on the runway. The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane and examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any. The inspector observed damage to the propeller, nosegear assembly, and firewall. The recorded weather near the accident site, about the time of the accident, was a headwind at 8 knots.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA13CA404 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Aug 3, 2013
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Nearest airport
- Knoxville Downtown Island (DKX)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 172N
- N-number
- N737PD
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1977
- 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.