# NTSB WPR24LA058: Cessna 172P, N5495K, Las Cruces, NM, November 27, 2023 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: November 27, 2023, 10:20 local (17:20 UTC) - Place: Las Cruces, NM - Coordinates: 32.289414, -106.92196 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.2894&lon=-106.9220&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: 2 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 Adminstration - NTSB case key (mKey): 193539 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR24LA058 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/193539/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193539 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24LA058 ## Probable cause An encounter with a downdraft during an approach to land, which resulted in a hard landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: altitude](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained; cases with it: [Cessna 172P, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012/cases.md?model=2072436), [All aircraft, 1,310 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot; cases with it: [Cessna 172P, 76 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072436), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Wind: downdraft](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034035): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on equipment (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172P, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034035/cases.md?model=2072436), [All aircraft, 178 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034035/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 172P, 39 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=2072436), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis At the time of the accident, the student pilot was on a solo cross-country flight to obtain a private, single engine airplane add-on to his certificate. He reported that during a landing attempt he noted that the approach was stable at a constant airspeed and power setting. The pilot said that at an unknown point in the approach, he experienced a downdraft as he felt “a little push down” and observed a rapid change in his rate of descent. The pilot could not recall at what altitude he encountered the downdraft. The airplane landed hard and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The weather station at the airport reported that the wind was calm at the time of the accident. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that could have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5495K](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5495K), registered now, S/N 17274160, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P - Registry model: [Cessna 172P](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (registry code 2072436) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17274160 - Year built: 1980 - Airframe hours: 12530 - Engines: Lycoming Engines O-320-D2J 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Bell Air LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, October 3, 2023, 98.3 hours before - Departed: ELP, El Paso, TX - Airport: LRU, Las Cruces Intl, runway 08, 6,069 × 100 ft, asphalt - Equipment: ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; injuries: none; student, commercial; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 1; last flight review November 27, 2023; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 1,158 total, 32 in this make and model, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 45 °F, dew point 23 °F - Altimeter: 30.27 inHg - Observed at: KLRU - METAR: METAR KLRU 271715Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 07/M05 A3027 RMK AO2 T00701048= ## 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 20231127021579A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20231127021579A), Nov 27, 2023: Cessna 172P, Las Cruces, NM, Substantial damage. On November 27, 2023, at 1020 MST, a Cessna 172, flown by a fixed-wing student pilot (who also holds a commercial pilot certificate-rotorcraft) experienced an… ## Other investigations on N5495K (2) 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. - [NTSB CEN14CA274](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN14CA274), May 30, 2014: Cessna 172P (N5495K), Bluffton, OH, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in a hard landing. - [NTSB ATL88LA167](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL88LA167), May 7, 1988: Cessna 172P (N5495K), Bowling Green, OH, substantial damage ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 1, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193539. 2.2 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 1.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16528121&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Email correspondence with pilot (item 2, PDF, 4 pages, 95 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16548986&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=email%20correspondence%20with%20pilot_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Accident photographs (item 3, PDF, 3 pages, 733 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16528141&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Accident%20Photographs-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. --- 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.