Cessna 172S accident near Alton, Illinois, January 3, 2007
On January 3, 2007 at about 6:51 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N364MA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Alton, Illinois (St. Louis Regional Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in the airplane impacting a runway sign. A factor in the accident was the student pilot's misjudged landing flare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 3, 2007 · about 6:51 pm local time
- Place
- Alton, Illinois · St. Louis Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N364MA · registry record · serial 172S8007
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot reported that she was on her first solo flight and her first landing attempt when she flared "too early, bounced hard and ballooned." She said that she attempted to recover, but bounced a second time, and went off the left side of the runway as she aborted the landing. The airplane struck a runway sign, and sustained substantial damage.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 40 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 35 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,096.7 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Langa Air Services
The flight
- Departed from: ALN Alton IL at 6:45 pm
- Destination: ALN Alton IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 6,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 pm from ALN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.