Cessna 172P accident near Pensacola, Florida, August 20, 2009
On August 20, 2009 at about 2:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N64344, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Pensacola, Florida (Pensacola 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 2009 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Pensacola, Florida · Pensacola Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N64344 · registry record · serial 17275548
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While conducting practice landings and takeoffs, the student pilot landed hard, which resulted in a cut nose wheel, a damaged nose strut, and wrinkling of the firewall. The student pilot did not report the damage to officials from the flying club that operated the airplane. The damage was discovered during a maintenance inspection. The student pilot subsequently left the flying club and did not respond to the club's emails or telephone messages. Two other student pilots and their flight instructor confirmed that during the three previous flights, they noted no damage to the airplane.
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
What happened, in order
- Hard landing during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Incorrect use/operation
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Student pilot
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 15 hours in all; 15 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,977 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 20, 2009
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Pensacola Navy Flying Club INC
The flight
- Departed from: PNS Pensacola FL at 2:00 pm
- Destination: PNS Pensacola FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 7,004 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 77°F (25°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from PNS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
Other NTSB records under N64344 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA09LA549.