Cessna 172N accident near Prescott, Arizona, August 19, 1997
On August 19, 1997 at about 6:40 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N3266E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Prescott, Arizona (Ernest A. Love Field). 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 inadequate recovery from a bounced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 1997 · about 6:40 pm local time
- Place
- Prescott, Arizona · Ernest A. Love Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N3266E · registry record · serial 17271484
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot landed hard and flat. The aircraft porpoised, pitched over, and struck the ground in a nose-low attitude. The airplane bounced back up, landed hard, and came to rest upright on the runway. According to the flight school's operations manual, solo pilots are prohibited from landing on runway 3L/21R except when necessary for the safety of flight, because there are 10-feet-deep drainage ditches that run along either side of the runway. The school reported that they had been informed that runway 3R/21L would be closed at 1200 and only 3L/21R would be available. The school flight supervisor stated that he ensured that all solo students would be back prior to the runway closure; however, the airport closed the runways 30 minutes early and the flight school was not informed.
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: 64 hours in all; 64 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 11 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,629 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 22, 1997; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: P14 Holbrook AZ at 5:00 pm
- Destination: PRC
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 3L, 4,842 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 65 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from PRC
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.