- Date
- May 23, 2023, 09:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Romeoville, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N674MACessna 172R
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration, Greater Chicago FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230523006499A
- Case key
- 192428
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 failure to attain/maintain a proper landing flare and failure to perform a go-around that resulted in an impact with the runway.
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 student pilot stated that during her initial solo flight, she attempted three landings. The first and second landing attempts resulted in go-arounds. During the third landing attempt, there was a “severe porpoise,” and she felt the airplane “rushing down the runway uncontrollably.” She “pushed down” to stop the porpoise because she felt that she was never going to be able to land. The airplane then impacted the runway surface and sustained substantial damage, which included damage to the fuselage. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by performing a go-around instead of forcing the airplane onto the runway. There was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane reported that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N674MA
- Reported as
- Cessna 172R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17280742
- Built
- 1999
- Airframe hours
- 8,621.7
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Lewis University
- Registered owner
- Lewis University
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 28, 2023
- Departed
- LOT · Romeoville, IL
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- LOT · Lewis University Airport, runway 9, 5,500 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot
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
- 18
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 52.6 total · 52.6 in this make and model · 0.3 as pilot in command · 31.3 in the last 90 days · 16.7 in the last 30 days · 1.6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- LOT
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 28, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.