# NTSB ERA13CA395: Cessna 172S, N6065P, Fort Lauderdale, FL, August 29, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: August 29, 2013, 19:08 local (23:08 UTC) - Place: Fort Lauderdale, FL - Coordinates: 26.197221, -80.171669 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.1972&lon=-80.1717&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 21, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 87961 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA13CA395 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/87961/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87961 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13CA395 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s failure to apply power to go-around following a bounced landing resulting in abnormal runway contact and collapse of the nose landing gear. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Personnel issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02040000): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02040000/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 56 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02040000/cases.md) - [Landing gear system: nose/tail landing gear](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Capability exceeded; cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 185 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 77 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 21 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot had flown with her instructor earlier that day and successfully performed about 5 takeoff’s and landings which included 1 go-around. She was then signed off for her first solo flight, and instructed to perform full stop taxi back landings. The student pilot stated that the flight departed and remained in the traffic pattern where on final approach she recognized the airplane was low. She applied power to level off, and noticed the airspeed was increasing so she, “…jerked the control stick.” The airplane contacted the runway, bounced, where she applied aft control, and was about to apply power but the airplane contacted the runway again causing the nose landing gear to collapse. The student pilot’s certified flight instructor who was watching and listening on a portable VHF transceiver reported observing the airplane bounce twice, and the second bounce was higher than the first. He then lost sight of the airplane and heard the student pilot’s voice on the radio, followed by a comment from the controller that help was on the way. The operator reported there was no mechanical failure or malfunction, and postaccident inspection of the flight controls by a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. ## Factual narrative The student pilot had flown with her instructor earlier that day and successfully performed about 5 takeoff’s and landings which included 1 go-around. She was then signed off for her first solo flight, and instructed to perform full stop taxi back landings. The student pilot stated that the flight departed and remained in the traffic pattern where on final approach she recognized the airplane was low. She applied power to level off, and noticed the airspeed was increasing so she, “…jerked the control stick.” The airplane contacted the runway, bounced, where she applied aft control, and was about to apply power but the airplane contacted the runway again causing the nose landing gear to collapse.The student pilot’s certified flight instructor who was watching and listening on a portable VHF transceiver reported observing the airplane bounce twice, and the second bounce was higher than the first. He then lost sight of the airplane and heard the student pilot’s voice on the radio, followed by a comment from the controller that help was on the way. The operator reported there was no mechanical failure or malfunction, and postaccident inspection of the flight controls by a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6065P](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6065P), registered now, S/N 172S10253, built 2006 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172S - Registry model: [Cessna 172S](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (registry code 2072439) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-L2A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-l2a) (registry code 41597, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 172S10253 - Airframe hours: 2498 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Airborne Systems, Inc., doing business as Airborne Systems - Registered owner: S R Liner LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, July 8, 2013 - Departed: FXE, Fort Lauderdale, FL - Destination: FXE, Fort Lauderdale, FL - Airport: FXE, Fort Lauderdale Executive, runway 13, 4,000 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 32; injuries: none; student; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 74 total, 74 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 120° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 84 °F, dew point 73 °F - Altimeter: 29.94 inHg - Observed at: FXE ## 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 20130829018649A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130829018649A), Aug 29, 2013: Cessna 172S, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Substantial damage. Aircraft did bounce on the runway during landing, after the 3rd bounce the nose was first to touch and did colapse. ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 19, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87961. 2.0 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 416 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40400741&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 2, .PDF, 13 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40400554&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF - FAA Inspector Statement (item 3, .PDF, 111 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40400846&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Inspector%20Statement-Redacted.PDF - Statement from Student Pilot (item 4, .PDF, 209 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40400742&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20from%20Student%20Pilot-Redacted.PDF - Photo 1: Digital Photograph Provided by Operator. View Depicts the Damage to the Firewall. (item 5, .PDF, 695 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40400745&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%3A%20Digital%20Photograph%20Provided%20by%20Operator.%20View%20Depicts%20the%20Damage%20to%20the%20Firewall.-Master.PDF - Photo 2: Digital Photograph Provided by Operator. View Depicts Interior Structural Damage Following Removal of the Lower Portion of the Firewall. (item 6, .PDF, 509 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40400767&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%3A%20Digital%20Photograph%20Provided%20by%20Operator.%20View%20Depicts%20Interior%20Structural%20Damage%20Following%20Removal%20of%20the%20Lower%20Portion%20of%20the%20Firewall.-Master.PDF 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.