Cessna 177B accident near Allentown, Pennsylvania, May 24, 1995
On May 24, 1995, a Cessna 177B, registered N621PW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Allentown, Pennsylvania (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easto airport). It was a personal 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 misjudged the flare, resulting in a hard, bounced landing and impact with the runway. A factor in this accident was an improper 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
- May 24, 1995
- Place
- Allentown, Pennsylvania · Allentown-Bethlehem-Easto · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177B · all 177Bs on the register
- Registration
- N621PW · registry record · serial 17702461
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane bounced during a hard land, damaging the nose wheel, propeller,and engine firewall. According to the pilot, '...I was on short final to runway 24 and set up for the approach to land. When above the runway, and in the landing configuration, the aircraft touched down on the main wheels first, then ballooned (porpoised) back up into the air, and came back down on the nose wheel...'
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: private
- Flight time: 209 hours in all; 123 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 139 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,873 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 9, 1995; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1F6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1N9 PA
- Destination: ABE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 7,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 190° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.