# NTSB WPR23LA365: Cessna R172E, N7881N, Alamogordo, NM, June 28, 2023

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report
- Date: June 28, 2023, 18:33 UTC
- Place: Alamogordo, NM
- Coordinates: 32.83899, -105.9918
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.8390&lon=-105.9918&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: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 193479
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR23LA365
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/193479/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193479
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23LA365

## Probable cause

Failure of the pilot to maintain control of the airplane during the landing.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna R172E, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072413), [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 R172E, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=2072413), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot reported that during the landing roll, he felt a shimmy in the front of the airplane. He pulled back on the yoke to lighten the weight on the nose. The shimmy didn’t reduce, so he pulled the yoke back further, which caused the airplane to porpoise and land hard. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the floor and fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N7881N](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7881N), registered now, S/N R172-0272, built 1967 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA R172E
- Registry model: [Cessna R172E](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-r172e) (registry code 2072413) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental IO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series) (registry code 17025, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: R172-0272
- Year built: 1967
- Engines: Lycoming reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Registered owner: U S Air Force-Owner
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Destination: Same as departure
- Airport: ALM, Alamogordo/White Sands Regional Wirport, runway 22, 9,207 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: Unknown

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 61; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 122 total, 24 in this make and model, 46 as pilot in command, 0 in the last 90 days, 0 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 90 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg

## 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 20230628018309A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230628018309A), Jun 28, 2023: Cessna R172E, Alamogordo, NM, Substantial damage. On June 28, 2023, at approximately 0850 MDT, a T41 (R172E) aircraft was involved in an accident at the Alamogordo, NM airport, kalm. The pilot reported that…

## Docket (2 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 29, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193479. 3.0 MB in all.

- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 2.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16675374&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=AAA%20NTSB%20Form%206120_1%20WPR24LA050_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 870 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16675864&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photos%20for%20WPR23LA365-Rel.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.

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