Student crashes during first flight after six years

The student pilot, who had logged about 40 hours previously, hadn’t flown in about six years.

This was his first flight with the flight instructor.

During the first approach to landing at the airport in South Portland, Maine, the flight instructor directed the student to perform a touch-and-go landing.

The student pilot stated that he felt “nervous” given the amount of time that had elapsed since he had last flown.

The student thought he landed the airplane hard and recalled hearing the sound of “crunching metal.”

His next recollection was waking up on the runway as the Cessna 172M caught fire.

The student pilot and the flight instructor were seriously injured and the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged during the landing and post-impact fire.

Despite several attempts to contact him, the flight instructor could not be reached following the accident and did not provide a statement about the accident.

Probable Cause: The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. Also causal was the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial action.

NTSB Identification: 105440

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This July 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.