# NTSB ERA15CA150: Cessna 172S, N144ME, Richmond, VA, March 7, 2015 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: March 7, 2015, 15:18 local (20:18 UTC) - Place: Richmond, VA - Coordinates: 37.505279, -77.319725 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.5053&lon=-77.3197&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 11, 2015 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 90845 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA15CA150 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/90845/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90845 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA15CA150 ## Probable cause The student pilot's inadequate landing flare which resulted in a hard landing and substantial damage to the airplane. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: landing flare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 99 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 1,285 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 206 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/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: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 77 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) ## Analysis During a full stop landing at an airport on the second leg of a multiple leg cross country flight, the student pilot landed, the airplane bounced, and then touched down again, hard on the nose landing gear. The student pilot then lost directional control, the airplane drifted towards the left side of the runway, and then came to rest. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane had incurred substantial damage. The tip of one propeller blade was bent, the nose wheel landing gear tire was flat, the cabin floor was wrinkled, the belly skin of the fuselage was wrinkled, and the firewall was buckled. The student pilot was uninjured, and he advised that he had no mechanical problems prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative During a full stop landing at an airport on the second leg of a multiple leg cross country flight, the student pilot landed, the airplane bounced, and then touched down again, hard on the nose landing gear. The student pilot then lost directional control, the airplane drifted towards the left side of the runway, and then came to rest. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane had incurred substantial damage. The tip of one propeller blade was bent, the nose wheel landing gear tire was flat, the cabin floor was wrinkled, the belly skin of the fuselage was wrinkled, and the firewall was buckled. The student pilot was uninjured, and he advised that he had no mechanical problems prior to the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N144ME](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N144ME), registered now, S/N 172S8428, built 2000 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172S - Registry model: [Cessna 172S](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (registry code 2072439) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming I0360 SER A&C](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-ser-a-c) (registry code 41511, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 172S8428 - Year built: 2000 - Airframe hours: 3838 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: AV-ED Flight School Inc. - Registered owner: Bell Enterprises Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, December 20, 2014 - Departed: CJR, Culpeper, VA - Destination: RIC, Richmond, VA - Airport: RIC, Richmond International, runway 20, 6,607 × 150 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 50; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 37 total, 37 in this make and model, 8 as pilot in command, 7 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 250° at 11 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 54 °F, dew point 21 °F - Altimeter: 30.22 inHg - Observed at: RIC ## 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 20150307002959A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150307002959A), Mar 7, 2015: Cessna 172S, Richmond, VA, Substantial damage. N144ME bounced on landing on runway 20 at ric. Winds were gusty, at about 15 knots. Pilot did not correctly respond to the bounce. The second bounce blew the… ## Other investigations on N144ME (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 ERA09CA404](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09CA404), Apr 13, 2009: Cessna 172 (N144ME), York, PA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing. ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 28, 2015, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90845. 1.7 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 1.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40429856&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Student Pilot Statement (item 2, .PDF, 118 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40429857&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Student%20Pilot%20Statement-Master.PDF - Chart of Accident Area – KRIC Airport Diagram (item 3, .PDF, 60 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40429858&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Chart%20of%20Accident%20Area%20%E2%80%93%20KRIC%20Airport%20Diagram-Master.PDF - Images of Aircraft Damage – As Provided by FAA (item 4, .PDF, 7 photos, 502 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40429859&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Images%20of%20Aircraft%20Damage%20%E2%80%93%20As%20Provided%20by%20FAA-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.