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GAA15CA099

2015-05-28 · State College, Pennsylvania, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport UNV

Current FAA registration · N2254U

Make / Model
CESSNA 172R
Year of manufacture
1999 · 16 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING I0360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19990211
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A1F68B

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the approach to landing which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The student pilot was performing a solo cross country flight and was on final approach at the destination airport. The pilot stated that the airplane speed decreased while crossing the runway threshold, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and the airplane landing hard on the main landing gear. The airplane subsequently porpoised, and the nose wheel landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot was performing a solo cross country flight and was on final approach at the destination airport. The pilot stated that the airplane speed decreased while crossing the runway threshold, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and the airplane landing hard on the main landing gear. The airplane subsequently porpoised, and the nose wheel landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. 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-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA099.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 (stall). All research papers