NTSB ERA22LA087 — 2021-12-12 · Hazleton, Pennsylvania, United States

Current FAA registration · N215LP

Make / Model: CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture: 2002 · 19 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20021105
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A1CD1D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N215LP Cessna 172S None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain proper airspeed on approach in tailwind conditions, which resulted in an extended touchdown, bounced landing, and runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot landed with a tailwind and had a higher-than-normal approach speed. The airplane landed long, bounced, and went off the runway. The airplane struck a taxiway light resulting in substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that the airplane had no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. 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
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Tailwind-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_ERA22LA087.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). All research papers