N78242 is a 1968 Cessna 172K. It is a fixed-wing single-engine aircraft with 4 seats, powered by a Lycoming 0-320 series rated at 180 horsepower. The registration is active, with the registrant based in Marthasville, MO. Its standard airworthiness certificate was issued in Oct 1968. It has been registered to its current owner since Jun 2026. This page also carries 1 NTSB event.
- 58 years old
- 1 of 1,072 Cessna 172K
2026
1968
That's everything on file so far — TailWiki checks the FAA registry daily and adds new entries as N78242's record changes.
The pilot reported that during the initial touchdown he "got a bad bounce". On the third bounce the nose wheel "gave way and the propeller impacted the ground".
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall.
The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The Federal Aviation Administration has published the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3B (2016). This handbook discusses porpoising and states in part:
In a bounced landing that is improperly recovered, the airplane comes in nose first initiating a series of motions that imitate the jumps and dives of a porpoise. The problem is improper airplane attitude at touchdown, sometimes caused by inattention, not knowing where the ground is, miss-trimming or forcing the airplane onto the runway.
Ground effect decreases elevator control effectiveness and increases the effort required to raise the nose. Not enough elevator or stabilator trim can result in a nose low contact with the runway and a porpoise develops.
Porpoising can also be caused by improper airspeed control. Usually, if an approach is too fast, the airplane floats and the pilot tries to force it on the runway when the airplane still wants to fly. A gust of wind, a bump in the runway, or even a slight tug on the control wheel will send the air plane aloft again.
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