Cessna 172S accident near Chandler, Arizona, July 12, 2003
On July 12, 2003 at about 5:22 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N5327G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chandler, Arizona (Chandler Muinicipal 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 pilot's misjudged landing flare, improper recovery from a bounced landing and failure to maintain directional control, resulting in a runway sign collision.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 12, 2003 · about 5:22 pm local time
- Place
- Chandler, Arizona · Chandler Muinicipal · 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
- N5327G · registry record · serial 172S9357
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot made a hard landing followed by 5 or 6 porpoise-like bounces on the runway during his first supervised solo flight. Thereafter, he lost control of the airplane, and it collided with a runway sign. The student pilot's flight instructor reported that her student had performed what appeared to have been a normal approach to the runway using 30 degrees of wing flaps. The student appeared to flare out higher than normal over the runway, and he increased engine power to recover just before the hard landing.
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: 24 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 0 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 349 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 13, 2003; 79 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Angel Air
The flight
- Departed from: CHD Chandler AZ at 5:16 pm
- Destination: CHD Chandler AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22R, 4,401 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 100°F (38°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 5:25 pm from CHD
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.
Other NTSB records under N5327G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.