- Date
- May 9, 2007, 15:55 local (19:55 UTC)
- Place
- Asheville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N924LPCessna 172S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 27, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20070509012249A
- Case key
- 65757
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 improper landing flare which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in the accident was the visual illusion experienced by the pilot from landing on a long, wide runway.
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
According to the pilot, since the Cessna 172 was "high," he adjusted the flight controls for a "rapid" descent, and intercepted the visual glideslope on short final. At that point, the flaps were fully deployed, and the throttle at idle. Once over the runway, the pilot flared too "high," the airplane landed hard, and bounced about four times with each bounce becoming more "violent." On the last bounce, the airplane touched down nosewheel first, and the propeller struck the runway. The pilot added that there were no problems with the airplane, and that the runway was twice as long, and twice as wide as his home runway, causing him to initiate the landing flare too high.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, since the Cessna 172 was "high," he adjusted the flight controls for a "rapid" descent, and intercepted the visual glideslope on short final. At that point, the flaps were fully deployed, and the throttle at idle. Once over the runway, the pilot flared too "high," the airplane landed hard, and bounced about four times with each bounce becoming more "violent." On the last bounce, the airplane touched down nosewheel first, and the propeller struck the runway. The pilot added that there were no problems with the airplane, and that the runway was twice as long, and twice as wide as his home runway, causing him to initiate the landing flare too high.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N924LP
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S9204
- Airframe hours
- 2,145
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Montgomery County Aviation
- Registered owner
- Costello Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2007
- Departed
- LYH · Lynchburg, VA
- Destination
- AVL · Asheville, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- AVL · Asheville Regional, runway 16, 8,001 × 150 ft
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
- 29
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 208 total · 137 in this make and model · 19 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days
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.