- Date
- July 19, 2005, 11:15 local (15:15 UTC)
- Place
- Charlottesville, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3537BCessna 172S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Richmond, VA
- FAA report
- 20050719018819A
- Case key
- 62012
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 flare which resulted in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Following an uneventful flight, the student pilot completed the approach, and began the landing flare over the runway. According to the pilot, " I started the flare too early, [and] I was too high." He further explained that the airplane stalled, and landed hard on the runway.
Factual narrative
On July 19, 2005, at 1115 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N3537B, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO), Charlottesville, Virginia. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that originated at the Manassas Regional Airport (HEF), Manassas, Virginia, about 0930. No flight plan was filed for the solo instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In a telephone interview, the pilot said that the flight to Charlottesville was uneventful, and that the airplane performed "beautifully" during the flight. As he approached the airport, the pilot configured the airplane for landing on runway 21. The pilot completed the approach, and began the landing flare over the runway. According to the pilot, " I started the flare too early, [and] I was too high." He further explained that the airplane stalled, and landed hard on the runway.
When asked specifically about the performance and handling of the airplane, the pilot responded, "The airplane was fine."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3537B
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S8827
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Dulles Aviation
- Registered owner
- Dulles Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- HEF · Manassas, VA
- Destination
- CHO · Charlottesville, VA
- Airport
- CHO · Charlottesville-Albemarle, runway 21
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 46 total · 40 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- CHO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.