# NTSB ATL01LA096: Cessna R172K, N758BW, Valdosta, GA, August 27, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 27, 2001, 11:45 local (15:45 UTC) - Place: Valdosta, GA - Coordinates: 30.840492, -83.270385 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.8405&lon=-83.2704&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 3, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Atlanta FSDO-11 - NTSB case key (mKey): 53237 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL01LA096 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53237/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL01LA096 ## Probable cause The flight instructor's improper flare of the airplane, which resulted in a hard landing. Factors were the dual student's failure to relinquish control of the airplane and the dual student's interference on the flight controls. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - flare - improper, pilot in command(cfi) (cause) - control interference - encountered, pilot in command(cfi) (contributing factor) - relinquishing of control - not complied with, dual student (contributing factor) ## Analysis The certificated flight instructor and dual student were conducting a simulated emergency landing immediately after takeoff. According to the flight instructor, the flight instructor briefed the dual student on the procedures and stated that the flight instructor would maintain priority on the controls with the dual student to follow. At 150 feet AGL, the instructor reduced the throttle to idle and pitched the airplane nose-low to maintain airspeed. The student pilot reported actively pulling back on the yoke at 50 feet AGL. As the flight instructor attempted the flare, the airplane struck the runway and sustained substantial damage to the propeller, nose gear, left main landing gear, firewall, floor, and bottom of the fuselage back to the baggage door. ## Factual narrative On August 27, 2001, at 1145 eastern daylight time, a Cessna R172K, N758BW, registered to Valdosta Flying Service, Inc., of Valdosta, Georgia, landed hard on the runway during a simulated emergency landing at Valdosta Regional Airport in Valdosta, Georgia. The instructional flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and neither the certificated flight instructor nor the dual student reported injuries. The flight first departed Valdosta at 1115 and conducted several approaches and emergency procedures in the traffic pattern. Prior to the accident, the flight instructor briefed the dual student on the proper procedures for a short-field landing, as well as for recovery from an engine failure on takeoff. The flight instructor and dual student completed a short-field landing to a complete stop and informed the tower their intentions to execute a takeoff with a simulated emergency landing to immediately follow. The flight instructor stated the student agreed the instructor "would maintain priority on the controls," and the student would follow. The instructor set the flaps to 10 degrees for takeoff and climbed the airplane at 60 knots. At 150 feet above ground level (AGL), the flight instructor announced a power reduction and reduced the throttle to idle to simulate an engine failure. The flight instructor and student reported pitching the airplane in a nose-low attitude to maintain airspeed. The student stated, "We nosed the plane over into a dive, and I experienced 0 g's. We were then at a dive at the runway and pulled back on the yoke at approximately 50 feet of altitude. I did not notice the aircraft come out of the dive like I expected it to, so I pulled back on the yoke some more (I was now actively back on the controls with [the flight instructor])." During the attempted flare, the airplane struck the runway. The dual student stated the airplane "impacted the runway in a nose-forward attitude." The flight instructor stated "the left main touched first, buckling slightly then shifted forward, collapsing the nose gear." Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction. Damage sustained in the accident included: Approximately 12 inches of the propeller tip was curled back toward the rear of the airplane. The nose gear wheel was displaced upward under the engine and right of center, and the top section of the nose strut was displaced upward against the firewall bottom, and the firewall was damaged. The nose wheel pant was found in pieces on the runway. The fuselage bottom was damaged immediately aft of the firewall on the bottom and both sides back to the baggage door. The rudder pedals in the area of the right side forward floor were pushed in toward the cabin. The center console under the instrument panel was buckled, and a piece of the support structure was protruding through the plastic by the cowl flap indicator and angled toward the right side. The forward cabin side panels and floor showed evidence of stress, and the left door of the airplane could not be closed. The left main gear was bent, and the wheel assembly was angled inward. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N758BW](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N758BW-2022-10-01), registration cancelled 2022-10-01, S/N R1722974, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna R172K - Registry model: [Cessna R172K](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-r172k) (registry code 2072431) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series) (registry code 17025, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: R1722974 - Airframe hours: 1166 - Engines: Continental IO-360-KB 195 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 13, 2001, 36 hours before - Departed: KVLD, Valdosta, GA - Destination: KVLD, Valdosta, GA - Airport: VLD, Valdosta Regional Airport, runway 04, 5,598 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 33; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter, airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: right; flight hours: 1,274 total, 105 in this make and model, 753 as pilot in command, 85 in the last 90 days, 42 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 25; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 14 total, 14 in this make and model, 1 as pilot in command, 14 in the last 90 days, 14 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 4 knots - Visibility: 4 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 73 °F - Altimeter: 30.04 inHg - Observed at: KVLD ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010827025879A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010827025879A), Aug 27, 2001: Cessna R172K, Valdosta, GA, No damage. (-23) The instructor pilot was attempting to demonstrate engine failure after takeoff. At approximately 100 feet AGL, after a short field takeoff, the throttle… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.