# NTSB ATL01LA101: Cessna 172, N7006A, Mobile, AL, August 2, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 2, 2001, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Mobile, AL - Location: 30.6914° N, 88.2428° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at MOBILE RGNL (MOB), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.6914&lon=-88.2428&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 20, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Birmingham FSDO-09 - NTSB case key (mKey): 53242 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL01LA101 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53242/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL01LA101 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper landing flare that resulted in a hard landing. A factor was the pilot induced porpoise. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - landing gear,nose gear - overload - porpoise/pilot-induced oscillation - encountered, pilot in command (contributing factor) - flare - improper, pilot in command (cause) - fuselage,firewall - overload ## Analysis On the second approach to land, the pilot elected to perform a touch-and-go landing with flaps retracted. As the pilot flared for the touchdown the airplane began to porpoise. When the airplane touched down, the pilot reported hearing a thud. Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or a component failure. The airplane sustained structural damage to the nose gear assembly and engine firewall. The pilot reported that the landing winds were 180 degrees at 7 to 15 knots. runway 14. ## Factual narrative On August 2, 2001, about 1130 central daylight time, a Cessna 172, N7006A, landed hard at Mobile Regional Airport in Mobile, Alabama. The personal 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 to the nose wheel assembly and firewall, and the private pilot and private-rated safety pilot reported no injuries. The flight departed Mobile Downtown Airport in Mobile , Alabama, at 1100. The pilot was flying the airplane from the right seat and was practicing ILS approaches on runway 14; the safety pilot occupied the left seat. The pilot had executed one practice approach and was three miles from the airport on the second approach when the tower requested that the airplane maintain its speed. The pilot reported this speed to be 120 mph. The pilot requested and was granted a touch-and-go, and the pilot elected to perform the maneuver without flaps. The pilot stated, "As I was slowing the aircraft for landing and descending to the runway, I began porpoising, possibly from a gust. From that point forward, I am unclear as to what happened, except that my plane hit with a thud." The post-accident examination of the airplane disclosed that the nose gear assembly and the engine firewall had sustained structural damage. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. The examination of the airplane also failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or component failure. The pilot reported that the prevailing winds were 180 degrees at 7-14 knots. Runway 14 was the landing runway. Review of the Mobile Regional Airport automated surface observation system 1056 central daylight time and 1156 central daylight time observations showed no wind gusts at the time of the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7006A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7006A), registered now, S/N 29106, built 1956 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172 - Registry model: [Cessna 172](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (registry code 2072402) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 29106 - Airframe hours: 3900 - Engines: Continental O-300A 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 1, 2001, 50 hours before - Departed: KBFM, Mobile, AL - Destination: KMOB, Mobile, AL - Airport: KMOB, Mobile Downtown Airport, runway 14, 8,521 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 64; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review November 1, 1999; seat: right; flight hours: 740 total, 230 in this make and model, 584 as pilot in command, 12 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 90° at 12 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 29.94 inHg - Observed at: KMOB ## 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 20010802025869A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010802025869A), Aug 2, 2001: Cessna 172, Mobile, AL, Substantial damage. (-23) On August 2, 2001, at approximately 1130 central standard time N7006A a Cessna 172 made a hard landing on its nose wheel at the Mobile regional airport.… ## Other investigations on N7006A (1) 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. - [NTSB ATL81FKJ34](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL81FKJ34), Aug 31, 1981: Cessna 172 (N7006A), Bay Minette, AL, substantial damage 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.