- Date
- January 12, 2016, 10:18 local (16:18 UTC)
- Place
- Dothan, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N417ERCessna 172
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 14, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA Alabama and Northwest Florida FSDO
- FAA report
- 20160112000559A
- Case key
- 92600
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-rated student's hard landing, which resulted in fuselage 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
The operator reported that the solo pilot-rated student was conducting a cross county flight and during the touchdown, the airplane bounced "multiple times," landed hard, and the propeller impacted the runway. The pilot taxied off the runway without further incident. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the firewall and to the floorboards underneath the rudder pedals. The operator reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The operator reported that the solo pilot-rated student was conducting a cross county flight and during the touchdown, the airplane bounced "multiple times," landed hard, and the propeller impacted the runway. The pilot taxied off the runway without further incident. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the firewall and to the floorboards underneath the rudder pedals. The operator reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N417ER
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (S)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S11445
- Built
- 2014
- Airframe hours
- 1,478.7
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Inc
- Registered owner
- Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · December 10, 2015
- Departed
- DAB · Daytona Beach, FL
- Destination
- DHN · Dothan, AL
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- DHN · Dothan Rgnl, runway 32, 8,499 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system
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
- 21
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- May 20, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 161 total · 139 in this make and model · 90 as pilot in command · 31 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.31 inHg
- Observed at
- KDHN
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 8, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 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.