- Date
- October 12, 2011, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cornelius, OR
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N52013Cessna 172P
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 13, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20111012024359A
- Case key
- 82054
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 airplane’s encounter with an unseen hole or obstacle on the grass runway.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
During the training flight, the certified flight instructor (CFI) initiated a simulated engine power failure. The student pilot responded by establishing a glide speed of 65 knots and maneuvering to a nearby grass runway. During the final approach segment, with twenty degrees of flaps, the student pilot entered a slip and landed uneventfully. However, during the landing roll, the airplane hit a “hole or obstacle” and then bounced. The CFI applied power, aborted the landing, and returned to the departure airport. The aft fuselage sustained structural damage and skin deformation. The CFI reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
Factual narrative
The certified flight instructor (CFI) reported that during the training flight he initiated a simulated engine power failure. The student pilot trimmed the airplane for a glide speed of 65 knots and maneuvered to a nearby grass runway. During the final approach segment, with twenty-degrees of flaps, the student pilot entered a slip. The CFI reported that shortly thereafter the airplane landed. He reported that during the landing roll the airplane hit a “hole or obstacle” and the airplane bounced. The CFI applied power and aborted the landing. After returning to the departure airport, structural damage and skin deformation was discovered to the aft fuselage. The operator reported damage to longerons and an aft bulkhead. The operator reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52013
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274394
- Airframe hours
- 14,946
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Hillsboro Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Hillsboro Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 22, 2011 · 96 hours before
- Departed
- KHIO · Hillsboro, OR
- Destination
- 4S4 · Cornelius, OR
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- 4S4 · Skyport Airport, runway 34, 2,000 × 45 ft, grass/turf
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 21, 2009
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 1,500 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 140 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 28, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.