NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA15CA222
Registry · N6155K
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172P
Year of manufacture
1980 · 35 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19800827
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A80462
Registrant of record
FREEWAY AIRPORT INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing and damage to the airplane.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, the airplane entered the downwind leg for runway 18, and he elected to use 20 degrees of flaps and a "slightly higher airspeed" due to wind gusts. While on final approach, he maintained an airspeed of 65 knots; however, the airplane floated, which prompted the pilot to perform a go-around maneuver beginning about halfway down the length of the runway. During the pilot's subsequent landing attempt, the airplane floated again; this time he lowered the nose. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear and subsequently bounced several times before coming to a stop. The pilot then taxied the airplane to the side of the runway and into the grass and secured the engine. One witness reported that the airplane, while on final approach, was "high and fast" with a nose-down attitude and landed flat. Another witness reported that the airplane landed in a nose-down attitude and bounced 4 or 5 times on the runway before coming to rest. All witnesses reported that the airplane "porpoised" after landing. Photographic evidence revealed substantial damage to the engine firewall. According to the pilot, there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Incorrect use/operation - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_ERA15CA222.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 or causal vocabulary (go-around). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Conference Paper
A Training Study to Improve Monitoring During A Go-Around
As part of an FAA program to improve go-around (GA) safety, we were asked to determine if we could improve the performance of the Pilot Monitoring (PM) during a GA maneuver.
- Flight Safety Foundation 2024 · FSF / AeroSafety World
Go-Around Safety Forum Findings
Foundation Go-Around Safety Forum technical findings — examines why pilots fail to execute go-arounds when criteria are met (stabilized approach gate not met, energy state out of envelope, traffic con…
- Semantic Scholar 2022 · Article (Journal of Safety Research)
Go-around accidents and general aviation safety.
INTRODUCTION Changes in General Aviation (GA) accident rates, specifically in the go-around phase, are examined by comparing the number of accidents, the proportion of fatal accidents, and the proport…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Aerospace)
Classification and Analysis of Go-Arounds in Commercial Aviation Using ADS-B Data
Go-arounds are a necessary aspect of commercial aviation and are conducted after a landing attempt has been aborted. It is necessary to conduct go-arounds in the safest possible manner, as go-arounds …
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes)
Go-Around Criteria Refinement for Transport Category Aircraft
Presently, airline pilots are trained to go around if, when lower than 500 ft above the ground, they are outside of a handful of parameters such as airspeed, position, and rate of descent.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Validation of Proposed Go-Around Criteria Under Various Environmental Conditions
This paper evaluates the effects of environmental conditions on touchdown performance under varying approach states and validates proposed go-around criteria developed using data from a previously con…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗