Cessna 172S accident near Honolulu, Hawaii, April 28, 2006
On April 28, 2006 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N790SP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Honolulu, Hawaii (Honolulu International 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 flare resulting in a hard landing and a porpoise pilot induced oscillation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 28, 2006 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Honolulu, Hawaii · Honolulu International · 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
- N790SP · registry record · serial 172S8716
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was damaged during a hard landing. The student pilot was returning from the practice area, and the controller in the air traffic control tower cleared him into class B air space for landing on runway 4L. Then the tower controller cleared him to land on runway 4R. He was too close on downwind to make the approach. He asked the controller to let him go towards the ocean. The controller told him to turn final "now" because of outbound traffic. The student pilot thought that this was an urgent request to land immediately. He felt he was too high (800 feet) and his airspeed (95 knots) was faster than it should be. He lowered 10 degrees of flaps, selected idle power, and aimed toward the runway. He knew that he would land long, and wanted to go around; however, he didn't want to interfere with the departing traffic. His airspeed was still fast, he flared too early, and the airplane landed hard. The airplane began to porpoise. He tried to prevent the propeller from striking the ground, and added power to stop from descending too quickly. He stopped the airplane beside the runway, and then taxied back onto the runway and to the ramp.
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: 81 hours in all; 58 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 7 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HNL Honolulu HI
- Destination: HNL Honolulu HI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 4R, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 3,800 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from HNL
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.
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.