- Date
- November 7, 2015, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1107GCessna 172
- Defining event
- Landing: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 5, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA Scottsdale FSDO
- FAA report
- 20151107022979A
- Case key
- 92328
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 pilot's failure to maintain pitch control during landing, resulting in a porpoise, and firewall damage.
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
A flight instructor, who witnessed the landing sequence, reported that upon touchdown, the airplane porpoised three times. He reported that the pilot aborted the landing, the airplane climbed to approximately 50 feet above ground level, and then the airplane landed on the remaining runway without further incident. The Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector, who spoke with the pilot, stated that the pilot reported that the airplane was "not stable" during the approach and that he should have aborted the landing. The pilot also reported that the crosswind condition "complicated his final approach," which was "too high." The airplane landed hard, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall.
Factual narrative
A certificated flight instructor, who witnessed the landing sequence, reported that upon touchdown, the airplane porpoised three times. He reported that the pilot aborted the landing, the airplane climbed to approximately 50 feet above ground level, and then the airplane landed on the remaining runway without further incident. The Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector, who spoke with the pilot, stated that the pilot reported that the airplane was "not stable" during the approach and that he should have aborted the landing. The pilot also reported that the crosswind condition "complicated his final approach," which was "too high." The airplane landed hard, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot did not make a statement to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge during a telephone interview. The pilot did submit a NTSB Form 6120.1 Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report, but with no narrative of the accident. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1107G
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (S)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S10303
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 2,837.3
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Falcon Executive Aviation Inc.
- Registered owner
- Falcon Executive Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 2, 2015
- Departed
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Destination
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Airport
- FFZ · Falcon Fld, runway 04R, 5,101 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot
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
- Pilot
- Age
- 68
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 6, 2015
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 398 total · 350 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- KFFZ, 1 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 10, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.7 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.