Cessna 172P accident near Livermore, California, April 20, 2009
On April 20, 2009 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N64204, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Livermore, California (Livermore Municipal 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 student pilot’s 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
- April 20, 2009 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Livermore, California · Livermore Municipal Airport · 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
- N64204 · no longer on the register · serial 17275534
- 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 performing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings on his second supervised solo flight. The airplane landed hard, and bounced back into the air. The pilot added power and released back pressure on the yoke, which resulted in the airplane impacting the runway on the nose landing gear. The forward fuselage and firewall were substantially damaged.
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
What happened, in order
- Hard landing during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student pilot
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 46 hours in all; 46 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,015 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 13, 2009; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Wollard Aviation Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: LVK Livermore CA at 3:15 pm
- Destination: LVK Livermore CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25R, 5,255 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from LVK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
Other NTSB records under N64204 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.