NTSB CEN22LA281 — 2022-06-19 · Fargo, North Dakota, United States

Current FAA registration · N5256S

Make / Model: CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture: 2009 · 13 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20090819
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A69EBC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N5256S Cessna 172S None

Probable cause & findings

The flight instructor’s failure to adequately monitor the pilot flying, which resulted in a nose-wheel first hard landing.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that during a discovery flight, the customer in the right seat locked his arms forward during landing and the instructor was unable to overpower him. The airplane subsequently landed hard with the nose wheel first and bounced. The instructor conducted a go-around and landed safely. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the airframe. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
— Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Instructor/check pilot
— Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot
— Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other person-Instructor/check pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_CEN22LA281.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). All research papers