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GAA16CA219

2016-05-02 · Mesa, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport IWA

Current FAA registration · N509ND

Make / Model
CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture
2010 · 6 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20100503
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A65C8F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain pitch control during the landing flare, which resulted in an abnormal runway contact, porpoise, nose gear collapse, runway excursion, and impact with terrain.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that during landing the airplane porpoised, subsequently he attempted to abort the landing, but the airplane touched down again, which resulted in a collapsed nose gear, runway excursion, and an impact with terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. According to the student pilot there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that during landing the airplane porpoised, subsequently he attempted to abort the landing, but the airplane touched down again, which resulted in a collapsed nose gear, runway excursion, and an impact with terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. According to the student pilot there were 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA16CA219.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 (runway excursion). All research papers