- Date
- July 2, 2009, 08:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Forks, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N538NDCessna 172S
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Fargo FSDO
- Case key
- 74182
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot's improper landing flare that resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The accident occurred during the student pilot's third landing on his first solo flight. He reported that his first two landings were uneventful, but the airplane landed hard on the third landing for unknown reasons. An after-flight inspection revealed that one of the propeller blade tips was curled from contact with the runway and that the engine firewall was substantially deformed.
Factual narrative
The accident occurred during the student pilot's third landing on his first solo flight. He reported that his first two landings were uneventful, but the airplane landed hard on the third landing for unknown reasons. An after-flight inspection revealed that one of the propeller blade tips was curled from contact with the runway and that the engine firewall was substantially deformed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N538ND
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S10832
- Airframe hours
- 558
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- UND Aerospace Foundation
- Registered owner
- UND Aerospace Foundation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · June 29, 2009
- Departed
- KGFK · Grand Forks, ND
- Destination
- KGFK · Grand Forks, ND
- Airport
- KGFK · Grand Forks International, runway 35L, 7,349 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 23
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 23 total · 23 in this make and model · 0 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- KGFK
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 8, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 570 KB in all.