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ERA15CA153

2015-03-08 · Newport, Rhode Island, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport UUU

Current FAA registration · N65645

Make / Model
CESSNA 172P
Year of manufacture
1982 · 33 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19820706
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A8A606

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during landing, and his subsequent failure to recover from a bounced landing, which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The student pilot was conducting a solo flight and landing on a 2,999-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. During touchdown, the airplane began to bounce, and subsequently landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the nose landing gear and firewall. The airplane veered to the left and contacted a snowbank that extended parallel to the runway. The student pilot reported that he did not experience any preaccident malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. He further reported 43 hours of total flight experience, all in the same make model as the accident airplane, which included 7 hours logged as pilot-in-command. The student pilot was conducting a solo flight and landing on a 2,999-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. During touchdown, the airplane began to bounce, and subsequently landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the nose landing gear and firewall. The airplane veered to the left and contacted a snowbank that extended parallel to the runway. The student pilot reported that he did not experience any preaccident malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. He further reported 43 hours of total flight experience, all in the same make model as the accident airplane, which included 7 hours logged as pilot-in-command. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_ERA15CA153.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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