# NTSB ERA23LA091: Cessna R172K, N5405V, Brooksville, FL, December 16, 2022 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: December 16, 2022, 15:15 local (20:15 UTC) - Place: Brooksville, FL - Coordinates: 28.473611, -82.455416 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.4736&lon=-82.4554&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: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 106470 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA23LA091 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/106470/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106470 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23LA091 ## Probable cause A hard landing that fractured the nose landing gear assembly, resulting in a loss of directional control and a nose-over. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Landing gear system: nose/tail landing gear](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna R172K, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md?model=2072431), [All aircraft, 185 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md) - [Landing gear system: nose/tail landing gear](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Capability exceeded (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna R172K, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md?model=2072431), [All aircraft, 185 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna R172K, 19 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072431), [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 R172K, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=2072431), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) - [Landing: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Cessna R172K, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=2072431), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) - [Landing: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Cessna R172K, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2072431), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that he made a normal touchdown, but he was unable to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll. He reported that the airplane did not respond to his control inputs, and it veered off the left side of the runway, struck a ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A tower controller initially reported to local law enforcement that the airplane bounced on landing, but he later recanted his statement. Examination of the wreckage revealed the nose wheel was separated and the nose gear fork assembly was fractured. A metallurgical examination of the fractured pieces of the nose gear revealed fracture surfaces with features consistent with overstress fracture. Flight control continuity was confirmed, and the remainder of the examination revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the physical evidence, the landing gear likely fractured during a hard landing, causing the loss of directional control. ## Factual narrative On December 16, 2022, at 1515 eastern standard time, a Cessna R172K, N5405V, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport (BKV), Brooksville, Florida. The private pilot sustained a minor injury. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed the pilot was returning from Orlando International Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida, where he had deplaned a friend. The pilot reported that he conducted a normal landing to runway 09 when the airplane veered left during the landing roll. The pilot attempted to maintain directional control with rudder and brake applications without success. The airplane did not respond to the pilot’s remedial actions, continued off the left side of the runway, struck a ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted with substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. When interviewed by local law enforcement, a BKV tower controller stated he provided a landing clearance to the pilot and watched the airplane “bounce on the landing strip, veer[ed] left, and wound-up driving into the retention ditch” where it nosed over. Later, when interviewed by an FAA aviation safety inspector, the controller recanted his statement. Weather reported at BKV at the time of the accident included wind from 020° at 4 knots, scattered clouds at 11,000 ft above ground level, and 10 statute miles visibility. Examination of the wreckage by FAA inspectors revealed the nose wheel was separated and the nose gear fork assembly was fractured. Six pieces of the fractured assembly were harvested from the airplane and from along the wreckage path and forwarded to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory in Washington, DC for examination. The examination revealed fracture surfaces with features consistent with overstress fracture. Flight control continuity was confirmed, and the remainder of the examination revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5405V](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5405V), registered now, S/N R1722294, built 1977 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA R172K - Registry model: [Cessna R172K](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-r172k) (registry code 2072431) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series) (registry code 17025, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: R1722294 - Year built: 1977 - Airframe hours: 2368 - Engines: Continental IO-360-K 195 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 5, 2022, 106 hours before - Departed: ORL, Orlando, FL - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: BKV, Brooksville-Tampa Bay Rgnl, runway 09, 7,001 × 150 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 87; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 1,200 total, 600 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 20° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 39 °F - Altimeter: 30.02 inHg - Observed at: BKV - METAR: SPECI KBKV 162031Z 02004KT 10SM SCT110 20/04 A3002 RMK AO2 T02000039 ## 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 20221216020059A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20221216020059A), Dec 16, 2022: Cessna R172K, Brooksville, FL, Substantial damage. On December 16, 2022, at approximately 15:15 EST, [privacy data omitted], a Cessna 172K, s/n R1722294 [privacy data omitted] Landed on runway 9 at hernando… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 28, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106470. 8.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 memorandum for record (item 1, PDF, 2 pages, 121 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16147799&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20Record%20NTSB%20Form%206120%20and%20Evidence%20Development-Rel.pdf - Sheriff's office report excerpt (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 220 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16150511&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Case_2022-37453-1%20Police%20Report%206_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photo array (item 3, PDF, 4 pages, 3.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16148733&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Docket%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf - Materials laboratory factual report (item 4, PDF, 15 pages, 19 photos, 5.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15885980&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=23-058%20-%20Materials%20Lab%20Factual%20Report%20(ERA23LA091)-Rel.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.