- Date
- July 9, 2020, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Auburn, ME
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N722SACessna 172
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200709014789A
- Case key
- 101599
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, which resulted in a hard landing on the nosegear and nosegear collapse.
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 solo student pilot reported that, during the landing flare, the airplane floated, and she believed that she intuitively released back pressure to get the airplane to land. Subsequently, the nose landing gear impacted the runway first and collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and firewall. The student pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The solo student pilot reported that, during the landing flare, the airplane floated, and she believed that she intuitively released back pressure to get the airplane to land. Subsequently, the nose landing gear impacted the runway first and collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and firewall. The student pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N722SA
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (R)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17280026
- Built
- 1997
- Airframe hours
- 5,555.8
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- L-A Pilots Club Llc
- Registered owner
- L-A Pilots Club Llc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 18, 2020
- Departed
- LEW · Auburn, ME
- Destination
- LEW · Auburn, ME
- Airport
- LEW · Auburn/Lewiston Muni, runway 04, 5,001 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Stall warning system, ADS-B
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
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 148.6 total · 148.6 in this make and model · 8.1 as pilot in command · 13.8 in the last 90 days · 7.4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LEW
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 9, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.0 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.