# NTSB LAX07CA171: Cessna 172S, N533ER, Payson, AZ, May 7, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: May 7, 2007, 09:20 local (16:20 UTC) - Place: Payson, AZ - Coordinates: 34.256942, -111.339447 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2569&lon=-111.3394&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 27, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 65831 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX07CA171 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/65831/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX07CA171 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision, excessive airspeed on final approach, and failure to execute a go-around resulting in a misjudged flare and hard landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - terrain condition - runway - airspeed(vso) - excessive, pilot in command (cause) - in-flight planning/decision - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - go-around - not performed, pilot in command - flare - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The airplane landed hard, bouncing multiple times before coming to rest on an adjacent taxiway. In an attempt to allow excessive airspeed to decay, the pilot elected to land 1,700 feet beyond the threshold. The airplane contacted the runway with the nose wheel and the propeller striking first. The airplane then bounced, and landed hard approximately 95 feet further down the runway, again sustaining propeller strikes. It became airborne for another 125 feet before striking the runway and departing to the left, passing through turf and coming to rest on the adjacent taxiway. The operator reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On May 7, 2006, about 0920 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N533ER, porpoised during landing at Payson Airport, Payson, Arizona. General Electric Finance Corporation owned the airplane, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University operated it under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country flight departed Prescott, Arizona, about 0800. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The operator stated in a written report that the pilot was on his first VFR solo cross-country flight. The airplane approached Payson from the northwest, and entered a right traffic pattern for runway 24. The first approach resulted in an aborted landing due to a high, overshooting base to final turn. The second approach resulted in excessive airspeed on final, with the pilot attempting to land long and allow for a decay in airspeed. The airplane contacted the runway about 1,700 feet beyond the threshold with the nose wheel and the propeller striking the runway first. The airplane then bounced, and landed hard approximately 95 feet further down the runway, again sustaining propeller strikes. It became airborne for another 125 feet before striking the runway and departing to the left, passing through turf and coming to rest on the adjacent taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage including a buckled and split firewall, propeller strikes, and a destroyed nose wheel tire and bearing. The operator reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N533ER](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N533ER-2008-09-11), registration cancelled 2008-09-11, S/N 172S9137, built 2002 (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: 172S9137 - Airframe hours: 3751 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360-L2A reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, doing business as Erau - Registered owner: Ge Aircraft, LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, May 1, 2007, 1 hours before - Departed: PRC, Prescott, AZ - Destination: PAN, Payson, AZ - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: PAN, Payson, runway 24, 5,500 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 69; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3; flight hours: 131 total, 130 in this make and model, 4 as pilot in command, 23 in the last 90 days, 11 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## 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 20070507007549A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070507007549A), May 7, 2007: Cessna 172S, Payson, AZ, Substantial damage. (-23) On may 7, 2007, at approximately 0915 MST, N533ER, a Cessna 172-S, with the pilot [privacy data omitted], a student pilot, performing as… 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.