NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA15CA099
Registry · N2254U
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
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
Registrant of record
RARITAN VALLEY FLYING SCHOOL
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
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or 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 ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). 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 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗