# NTSB WPR11CA472: Cessna 172R, N21284, Napa, CA, September 28, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 28, 2011, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Napa, CA - Coordinates: 38.213054, -122.280555 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.2131&lon=-122.2806&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 1, 2011 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 81925 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR11CA472 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/81925/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=81925 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11CA472 ## Probable cause The student pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: landing flare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172R, 37 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md?model=2072401), [All aircraft, 1,285 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172R, 75 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072401), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172R, 34 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=2072401), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot was on a solo training flight. The student flew in the local practice area and then returned to the departure airport for touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The student completed one landing uneventfully. On the second landing, as the student flared, the airplane ballooned to approximately 20 feet above ground level. The airplane dropped hard and the nose and right wing impacted the runway, followed by the left wing. A postaccident examination revealed that the wing spar sustained substantial damage. The student reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative The student pilot was on a solo training flight. The student and a certified flight instructor reviewed weather and additional flight information prior to the flight. The student flew in the local area and then returned to the departure airport for touch and go takeoffs and landings. The student completed one landing uneventfully. On the second landing, the airplane drifted across the runway and it climbed approximately 20 feet above ground level during the initiation of the flare. The airplane dropped and the nose and right wing impacted the runway, followed by the left wing impacting the pavement. A post accident examination revealed that the wing spar was damaged. The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N21284](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N21284-2012-02-06), registration cancelled 2012-02-06, S/N 17281178, built 2003 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172R - Registry model: [Cessna 172R](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172r) (registry code 2072401) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-L2A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-l2a) (registry code 41597, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17281178 - Airframe hours: 1467 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Iasco Flight Training Inc - Registered owner: Iasco Flight Training Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, September 14, 2011, 28 hours before - Departed: APC, Napa, CA - Destination: APC, Napa, CA - Airport: APC, Napa County Airport, runway 18R, 5,930 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 19; injuries: none; student; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 50 total, 50 in this make and model, 1 as pilot in command, 31 in the last 90 days, 18 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 100° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 95 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 29.92 inHg - Observed at: APC ## 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 20110928024009A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110928024009A), Sep 28, 2011: Cessna 172R, Napa, CA, Substantial damage. Student pilot was conducting second touch and go landing made hard landing on Napa runway 18R and came to rest with the nose gear collapsed and wing damage.… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 21, 2011, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=81925. 134 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 134 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40355619&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF 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.