NTSB Factual Report

On May 7, 2006, about 0920 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N533ER, porpoised during landing at Payson Airport, Payson, Arizona. General Electric Finance Corporation owned the airplane, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University operated it under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country flight departed Prescott, Arizona, about 0800. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed.

The operator stated in a written report that the pilot was on his first VFR solo cross-country flight. The airplane approached Payson from the northwest, and entered a right traffic pattern for runway 24. The first approach resulted in an aborted landing due to a high, overshooting base to final turn. The second approach resulted in excessive airspeed on final, with the pilot attempting to land long and allow for a decay in airspeed. The airplane contacted the runway about 1,700 feet beyond the threshold with the nose wheel and the propeller striking the runway first. The airplane then bounced, and landed hard approximately 95 feet further down the runway, again sustaining propeller strikes. It became airborne for another 125 feet before striking the runway and departing to the left, passing through turf and coming to rest on the adjacent taxiway.

The airplane sustained substantial damage including a buckled and split firewall, propeller strikes, and a destroyed nose wheel tire and bearing.

The operator reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision, excessive airspeed on final approach, and failure to execute a go-around resulting in a misjudged flare and hard landing.