Cessna 172P accident near San Jose, California, April 25, 1997
On April 25, 1997 at about 8:42 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N63754, was destroyed in an accident near San Jose, California (San Jose International airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed to preclude stalling following an improper recovery from a bounced landing. Contributing factors were the pilot's premature and excessive flap retraction and misjudged landing flare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 25, 1997 · about 8:42 pm local time
- Place
- San Jose, California · San Jose International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N63754 · no longer on the register · serial 17275478
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident occurred during the student's first supervised solo flight, which was observed by the student's certified flight instructor. The student's first two attempted landings terminated in go-arounds. During the next two approaches the student performed touch-and-go's, and the fifth approach terminated with another go-around. The accident occurred during the following attempted landing. The student made a hard bounced touchdown, ballooned 50 to 75 feet into the air and attempted to initiate a go-around. The student reduced the wing flap setting, increased the angle of attack, and the airplane stalled and rolled into a steep left bank and descended until contacting the ground. Thereafter, it cartwheeled and came to rest in a nose down attitude in an open field near the control tower. The student indicated that he should not have retracted the wing flaps so quickly while initiating the go-around.
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: student
- Flight time: 18 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,409 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 21, 1997; 49 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SJC at 8:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 4,599 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:42 pm from SJC
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.