# NTSB ERA26LA174: Cessna 172S, N63405, The Rock, GA, April 13, 2026 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: April 13, 2026, 17:28 local (21:28 UTC) - Place: The Rock, GA · Airport property - Coordinates: 32.955645, -84.26503 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.9556&lon=-84.2650&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 June 22, 2026 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 202830 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA26LA174 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/202830/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=202830 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26LA174 ## Probable cause The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, porpoised landing. ## 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) ## Analysis The student pilot reported that during landing, the airplane encountered a light wind gust, ballooned, touched down hard, and porpoised several times. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N63405](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N63405), registered now, S/N 172S10849, built 2008 (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: 172S10849 - Year built: 2008 - Airframe hours: 10072.7 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: US Aviation Academy - Registered owner: Christiansen Aviation LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, March 29, 2026, 47 hours before - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: OPN, Thomaston-Upson County, runway 12, 6,350 × 100 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 32; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 54 total, 44 in this make and model, 2 as pilot in command, 21 in the last 90 days, 21 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 30.25 inHg - Observed at: OPN - METAR: METAR KOPN 132135Z AUTO 18005KT 10SM CLR 27/11 A3025 RMK AO2 ## 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 20260413006759A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260413006759A), Apr 13, 2026: Cessna 172S, Thomaston, GA, Substantial damage. At approximately 1729 EDT, during a solo landing on runway 12 at Thomaston-Upson County Airport (kopn), the student pilot, operating a Cessna 172S, encountered… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2026, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=202830. 2.1 MB in all. - NTSB 6120 1 form (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 1.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20399411&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%206120%201%20Form_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photo array (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 398 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20399282&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array-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.