20260315003239A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Cessna 177B · Cottonwood, AZ · March 15, 2026

Date
March 15, 2026 · 08:00 local
Place
Cottonwood, AZ
Airport
Cottonwood
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N178DR
NTSB investigation
NTSBWPR26LA128
Reported as
Cessna 177B
Reported engine
Lycoming O&VO-360 series
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Student
Pilot’s flight hours
166 total136 in this make and model6 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The student pilot, flying solo under the supervision of a flight instructor on the ground, attempted to land but lost control during the first landing approach and executed a go-around. On the second landing attempt, the student again lost control during the landing phase, resulting in a hard impact with the surface that caused substantial damage to the aircraft.

As the FAA filed it

THE STUDENT PILOT, FLYING SOLO UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR ON THE GROUND, ATTEMPTED TO LAND BUT LOST CONTROL DURING THE FIRST LANDING APPROACH AND EXECUTED A GO-AROUND. ON THE SECOND LANDING ATTEMPT, THE STUDENT AGAIN LOST CONTROL DURING THE LANDING PHASE, RESULTING IN A HARD IMPACT WITH THE SURFACE THAT CAUSED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.