Cessna 172S accident near San Manuel, Arizona, September 4, 2005
On September 4, 2005 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N53056, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Manuel, Arizona (San Manuel Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's misjudged flare during a touch-and-go landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 2005 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- San Manuel, Arizona · San Manuel Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N53056 · no longer on the register · serial 172S9261
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a touch-and-go landing the airplane landed hard on the nose wheel causing the propeller to strike the runway and damaging the firewall. The pilot said that he looked at the instruments on short final approach then looked up and saw the runway "rushing up faster that it should have been." The pilot flared but the airplane touched down nose wheel first, then bounced back into the air. The pilot applied power, executed a go-around and flew the airplane back to his departure airport. The damage was discovered after 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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 333 hours in all; 169 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,774.6 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 1, 2005; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Textron Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Crm Flyers, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: E77 San Manuel AZ
- Destination: KSDL Scottsdale AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 4,200 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N53056 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.