NTSB ERA24LA398 — 2024-05-17 · St. Augustine, Florida, United States

Current FAA registration · N371RH

Make / Model: CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture: 2006 · 18 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20080408
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A43901

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N371RH Cessna 172 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper landing flare resulting in a hard, bounced landing.

Factual narrative

The operator reported that the student pilot was on a solo flight practicing landings. Upon completing uneventful pattern work, the pilot reported executing the landing flare late, resulting in a hard landing and bounce. The pilot did not initiate abort the landing and the airplane “porpoised down the runway”. The lower fuselage of the airplane was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_ERA24LA398.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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