NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA12CA439
Registry · N387AF
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture
2006 · 6 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20061219
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A47551
Registrant of record
CSA AIRCRAFT LEASING LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's inadequate landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, his intent was to remain in the traffic pattern to practice takeoffs and landings on runway 23. During final approach he had trouble maintaining alignment with the runway centerline. He applied power to correct the drift; however, the airplane impacted the runway, left of centerline. The hard landing resulted in substantial damage to the firewall. The wind at the airport about the time of the accident was from 160 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane. According to the pilot, his intent was to remain in the traffic pattern to practice takeoffs and landings on runway 23. During final approach, he had trouble maintaining alignment with the runway centerline. He applied power to correct the drift; however, the airplane impacted the runway left of centerline. The hard landing resulted in substantial damage to the firewall. The wind at the airport about the time of the accident was from 160 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Incorrect use/operation - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2012_ERA12CA439.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type. Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2016 · Conference paper
Early Morning Concurrent Session: Aviation Management and Operations: Presentation: Analysis of Factors Related to True Airspeed (TAS) Calculation Utilizing the Handicap Procedure for the 2015 Women's Air Race Classic
In most post-WWII cross country air racing events, the “handicap” method of determining race scoring is utilized. A typical example is the Women’s Air Race Classic transcontinental annual competition.…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2015 · Conference paper
Approach Stability from FDM Data
The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott Campus maintains a fleet of twenty four aircraft, which includes sixteen Cessna 172S NavIII and four Diamond DA42NG equipped with flight data monitori…
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