Cessna 172S accident near Edwards Afb, California, July 20, 2005
On July 20, 2005 at about 1:50 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N106ED, was substantially damaged in an accident near Edwards Afb, California (Edwards Afb airport). 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's misjudged flare and inadequate recovery technique from the subsequent bounces.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 20, 2005 · about 1:50 pm local time
- Place
- Edwards Afb, California · Edwards Afb · 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
- N106ED · registry record · serial 172S8486
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed hard and porpoised, damaging the nose wheel and firewall. The pilot was making a repositioning flight from the south runway complex to the main base runway (approximately 1/4 mile distance). The pilot departed runway 24 and landed on runway 04. Upon touchdown, the airplane hit the runway hard and bounced back into the air. The pilot tried to recover, but on the second landing attempt, the airplane hit the runway even harder. The airplane bounced one or two more times before the pilot was able to complete the landing. After the pilot parked the airplane, he completed a post flight inspection, and found damage to the propeller and to the nose wheel. Further inspection revealed damage to the firewall. The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.
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: 109 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 65 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,233.2 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, July 1, 2005; 10.6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,558 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EDW Edwards CA
- Destination: EDW Edwards CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 04, 15,013 ft by 300 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 36 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N106ED 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 LAX05CA275.