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ERA22LA303

2022-07-08 · South Portland, Maine, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PWM

Current FAA registration · N9946Q

Make / Model
CESSNA 172M
Year of manufacture
1975 · 47 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19750920
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ADE4B8

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. Also causal was the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial action.

Factual narrative

The student pilot had previously accumulated about 40 total hours of flight experience, but the accident flight with the flight instructor was his first after having not flown for about six years. During the first approach to landing, the flight instructor directed the student to perform a touch-and-go landing. The student pilot stated that he felt “nervous” given the amount of time that had elapsed since he had last flown. The student thought that he subsequently landed the airplane hard and recalled hearing the sound of “crunching metal.” His next recollection was waking up on the runway as the airplane caught fire. The student pilot and the flight instructor were seriously injured and the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged during the landing and subsequent postimpact fire. Despite several attempts to contact him, the flight instructor could not be reached following the accident and did not provide a statement about the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Instructor/check pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ERA22LA303.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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