NTSB GAA15CA119 — 2015-05-28 · Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States

Current FAA registration · N984WU

Make / Model: CESSNA 172R
Year of manufacture: 1998 · 17 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING I0360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19980923
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ADBC07

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N984WU Cessna 172R None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain airplane attitude control during the landing, resulting in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that upon the conclusion of his cross-country solo flight, the airplane landed hard and the nose wheel tire lost pressure. A post-accident inspection revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The student pilot reported that there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that upon the conclusion of his cross-country solo flight, the airplane landed hard and the nose wheel tire lost pressure. A post-accident inspection revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The student pilot reported that there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions 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-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA119.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. All research papers

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