Cessna 172S accident near White Plains, New York, August 6, 2005
On August 6, 2005 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N297ME, was substantially damaged in an accident near White Plains, New York. It was a personal 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 pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 2005 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- White Plains, New York · 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
- N297ME · registry record · serial 172S8556
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that during a first landing in a closed traffic pattern, the "base and final were normal, as [were] the landing and takeoff." During a second approach, the pilot extended the base leg due to departing traffic. He applied 20 degrees of flaps, slowed the airplane to 75 knots, and after the other airplane departed, he turned the airplane onto the final approach. The approach was flown "a bit higher than normal," but the pilot was not concerned due to the long runway length. After being cleared to land, the pilot applied 30 degrees flaps and continued the approach. Once over the runway threshold, the pilot reduced power and noticed that he had intercepted the glide slope, but at an airspeed of 78 knots. He delayed the landing to try to bleed off airspeed, but as the main landing gear wheels touched the runway, the nose pitched "slightly up," and the airplane became airborne again. The pilot "applied a little throttle and simultaneously tried to get out of the unusual nose high attitude." The airplane "stopped flying," landed hard on the runway, bounced, and landed again. While taxiing back toward the parking area, the pilot noticed that the trim indicator was in a "nose up" position, but subsequently noted that he had not trimmed the airplane to that attitude, and was not sure if the indication was a result of the hard landing. Winds, about the time of the landing, were about 20 degrees to the right of the runway, at 8 knots. The pilot had 222 hours of flight time, 76 hours in make and model, and 2 hours in the previous 90 days.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 222 hours in all; 76 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HPN White Plains NY
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 IAD05CA120.