# NTSB LAX05CA207: Cessna 172R, N2384L, Santa Maria, CA, June 12, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: June 11, 2005, 19:00 local (Jun 12, 2005, 02:00 UTC) - Place: Santa Maria, CA - Coordinates: 34.898887, -120.457496 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8989&lon=-120.4575&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 13, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 61747 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX05CA207 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61747/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX05CA207 ## Probable cause the student pilot's improper flare and recovery from a bounced landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - flare - improper, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - runway - recovery from bounced landing - improper, pilot in command (cause) - porpoise/pilot-induced oscillation - uncontrolled, pilot in command ## Analysis The airplane landed flat, bounced, and landed hard on the nose wheel causing the propeller to strike the runway and damaging the firewall. The student pilot said that he had landed flat, but the landing was not as hard as some of his past landings. After touching down, the airplane bounced up and porpoised. The pilot added power and then the airplane came down hard on the nose wheel. ## Factual narrative On June 11, 2005, about 1900 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172R, N2384L, made a hard landing at Santa Maria Public Airport/Capt G Allan Hancock Field (SMX), Santa Maria, California. Pigs Can Fly Aviation, LLC (PCF Aviation), was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country instructional flight departed San Luis County Regional Airport, San Luis Obispo, California, with a planned destination of Santa Maria. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The operator submitted a Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2). The pilot was unable to be contacted and his certified flight instructor (CFI) submitted a written statement. In his statement, the CFI stated that he had given instruction to his student about landing at Santa Maria, and that the runway environment was familiar to his student. When he picked up his student after the accident, his student told him that he had landed flat, but the landing was not as hard as some of his past landings. After touching down, the airplane bounced up and porpoised. The pilot added power and then came down hard. He noticed that the tire was flat and exited the runway at a taxiway. He said he did not know that the propeller struck the runway until someone told him. The hard landing damaged the firewall. The operator stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2384L](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2384L), registered now, S/N 17280706, built 1999 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172R - Registry model: [Cessna 172R](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172r) (registry code 2072401) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming I0360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (registry code 41515, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17280706 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360-L2A reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Pigs Can Fly Aviation, LLC - Registered owner: Francis Steven G. Trustee - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Departed: SBP, San Luis Obispo, CA - Destination: SMX, SANTA MARIA, CA - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: SMX, Santa Maria Public, runway 30, 6,304 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 21; student; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; flight hours: 40 total, 40 in this make and model, 29 in the last 90 days, 18 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 290° at 17 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 61 °F, dew point 50 °F - Altimeter: 29.84 inHg - Observed at: SMX ## 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 20050611012739A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050611012739A), Jun 11, 2005: Cessna 172R, Santa Maria, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) Student allowed aircraft to porpoise on landing, striking propeller - damaged firewall. ## Other investigations on N2384L (1) 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. - [NTSB LAX08LA121](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08LA121), Apr 19, 2008: Cessna 172R (N2384L), S. Lake Tahoe, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper flare and subsequent hard landing. Contributing to the accident were the gusty winds and the high density altitude. 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.