Cessna 172P accident near Poughkeepsie, New York, July 29, 2006
On July 29, 2006 at about 1:45 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N97650, was substantially damaged in an accident near Poughkeepsie, New York. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's improper flare and failure to recover from a bounced landing, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 29, 2006 · about 1:45 pm local time
- Place
- Poughkeepsie, New York · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N97650 · registry record · serial 17276218
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was conducting his first solo flight, and was on approach to land on runway 24, a 5,001-foot-long, asphalt runway. He reported that the airplane touched down a little harder than he expected, bounced, and began to porpoise. The airplane subsequently came to a stop on the runway; however, the firewall, and nose landing gear were substantially damaged. The student pilot reported that he did not experience any mechanical problems with the airplane, and he had accumulated about 45 hours of total flight time. Winds reported at the airport, about the time of the accident, were from 240 degrees at 6 knots.
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
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 45 hours in all; 45 in this make and model; 41 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,655 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HPN White Plains NY at 1:00 pm
- Destination: POU Poughkeepsie NY
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from POU
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N97650 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number NYC06CA189.