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CEN23LA256

2023-05-23 · Romeoville, Illinois, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport LOT

Current FAA registration · N674MA

Make / Model
CESSNA 172R
Year of manufacture
1999 · 24 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING I0360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19990810
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A8EBA8

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to attain/maintain a proper landing flare and failure to perform a go-around that resulted in an impact with the runway.

Factual narrative

The student pilot stated that during her initial solo flight, she attempted three landings. The first and second landing attempts resulted in go-arounds. During the third landing attempt, there was a “severe porpoise,” and she felt the airplane “rushing down the runway uncontrollably.” She “pushed down” to stop the porpoise because she felt that she was never going to be able to land. The airplane then impacted the runway surface and sustained substantial damage, which included damage to the fuselage. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by performing a go-around instead of forcing the airplane onto the runway. There was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane reported that would have precluded normal operation. 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-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Student/instructed pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_CEN23LA256.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 (go-around). All research papers