NTSB CEN23LA159 — 2023-04-17 · Fredericksburg, Texas, United States

Current FAA registration · N478SP

Make / Model: CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture: 1998 · 25 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING I0360 SER A&C (200 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19980910
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A5E070

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N478SP Cessna 172S None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during an attempted go-around resulting in abnormal contact with the runway pavement and a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that when she checked the weather inbound to the airport, the wind was reported as calm. However, the wind may have shifted resulting in a tailwind on final approach. When it became apparent that the airplane was going to land long, she added full power to attempt a go-around. However, the airplane porpoised, the nose landing gear struck the runway and collapsed, and the airplane veered left and departed the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. She noted that initiating the go-around earlier may have prevented the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Effect on equipment

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_CEN23LA159.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

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