Cessna 172M accident near Pompano Beach, Florida, March 27, 1997
On March 27, 1997 at about 3:23 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N5123H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pompano Beach, Florida (Pompano Beach Airpark 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 improper flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in overload failure of the nose gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 27, 1997 · about 3:23 pm local time
- Place
- Pompano Beach, Florida · Pompano Beach Airpark · 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
- N5123H · no longer on the register · serial 17265343
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After a student pilot made an approach for the third and final landing, the airplane touched down and began to porpoise. The student did not apply power, and the porpoising continued 4 or 5 times until the nose landing gear collapsed.
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: 27 hours in all; 27 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,485 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 26, 1997; 54 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Airborne Systems
The flight
- Departed from: PMP at 3:18 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32, 4,419 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:26 pm from PMP
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.