Cessna 172M accident near Long Beach, California, September 14, 1997
On September 14, 1997 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N61913, was substantially damaged in an accident near Long Beach, California (Daughtery 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 student pilot's misjudged landing flare which led to a balloon and subsequent hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 14, 1997 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Long Beach, California · Daughtery Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N61913 · no longer on the register · serial 17264881
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot had been endorsed for a solo flight in the pattern. On landing the aircraft ballooned slightly. During recovery, the nose gear struck the runway hard deflating the nose tire and damaging the firewall.
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: 20 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,631 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 6, 1997; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LGB at 4:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25R, 6,192 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from LGB
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.