| Crash location | 40.885277°N, 83.868611°W |
| Nearest city | Bluffton, OH
40.895330°N, 83.888829°W 1.3 miles away |
| Tail number | N363SA |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 27 Dec 2003 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna 172R |
| Additional details: | None |
On December 27, 2003, at 1530 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172R, N363SA, was substantially damaged while landing at the Bluffton Airport (5G7), Bluffton, Ohio. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight which originated at the Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport (MFD), Mansfield, Ohio. The solo instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the student pilot, during landing on runway 23 at Bluffton, the airplane was hit by an "unexpected wind gust." The airplane was lifted upward, and then impacted the runway "very hard." The airplane then bounced and came to rest on the nose wheel first, causing the landing gear strut to bend and the propeller to impact the runway.
The student pilot stated that he was "too relaxed" during the landing, and should have accelerated to avoid impacting the runway hard. He reported 38 hours of total flight experience at the time of the accident.
The winds reported at FDY, 12 miles to the northeast of Bluffton, at 1556, were from 150 degrees at 7 knots.
The pilot's improper flare and inadequate recovery from a bounced landing.