Cessna 172G accident near Katy, Texas, June 12, 2007
On June 12, 2007 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Cessna 172G, registered N4260L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Katy, Texas (Easterwood Field Airpot). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 improper flare and his failure to recover from a bounced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 12, 2007 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Katy, Texas · Easterwood Field Airpot
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172G · all 172Gs on the register
- Registration
- N4260L · registry record · serial 17254329
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed hard, bounced, encountered porpoise, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The 43-hour student pilot reported that he was returning from his first solo cross-country flight. He added that while landing on runway 16, which was reported to be 7,000-foot long, by 150-foot wide, he misjudged the height of the airplane above the runway and the airplane stalled at dropped-in from a height of 10-feet. After the initial bounce, the aircraft began to porpoise, and the nose landing gear collapsed after the second bounce. The pilot attempted to taxi the airplane off the active runway. According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who responded to the accident, the engine firewall sustained structural damage. The impact also fractured the nose gear assembly and buckled the engine firewall. The pilot was uninjured and was able to egress from the airplane unassisted. At the time of the accident, the on-field weather observation station reported the wind from 170 degree at 4 knots.
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
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 43 hours in all; 43 in this make and model; 29 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental 0-300 SER (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: 4260L Corporation
The flight
- Departed from: 27XS Brookshire TX at 5:00 pm
- Destination: CLL Katy TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:30 pm from CLL
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.