NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA17CA300
Registry · N53460
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture
2003 · 14 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20030331
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A6C28C
Registrant of record
L & W LEASING LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s unstabilized approach and improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, porpoised landing.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during his approach, he made his turn to base too early. His approach glide angle was too high and, "I reduced power but also nosed the plane over in order to descend." The airplane's airspeed increased and the airplane ballooned during the landing flare. The airplane touched down hard, it porpoised on the runway and a propeller strike occurred. He taxied to parking and noticed that substantial damage was sustained to the fire wall. The pilot reported that, during his approach, he turned to base too early. His approach glide angle was too high, and "I reduced power but also nosed the plane over in order to descend." The airplane's airspeed increased, and the airplane ballooned during the landing flare. The airplane touched down hard, porpoised on the runway, and a propeller strike occurred. He taxied to park and noticed that the firewall had sustained substantial damage. 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-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_2017_GAA17CA300.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 (unstabilized approach). 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 2019 · Conference Paper
Crash Testing and Simulation of a Cessna 172 Aircraft: Pitch Down Impact Onto Soft Soil
During the summer of 2015, NASA Langley Research Center conducted three full-scale crash tests of Cessna 172 (C-172) aircraft at the NASA Langley Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Simulating the Impact Response of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests of Cessna 172 Aircraft
During the summer of 2015, a series of three full-scale crash tests were performed at the Landing and Impact Research Facility located at NASA Langley Research Center of Cessna 172 aircraft.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Conference paper
Utilizing Deep Learning to Predict Unstabilized Approaches for General Aviation Aircraft
Unstabilized approaches pose a major hazard for general aviation aircraft. In the period from 2009 to 2019, 3,257 general aviation accidents occurred during the landing phase of flight in which loss o…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Conference paper
Validation of Training Satisfaction Survey
The Training Satisfaction Survey (TSS) was developed as part of a larger project to examine the features of Virtual Reality software and supporting devices as a training program on visual illusions an…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Data in Brief)
Cockpit voice recorder transcript data: Capturing safety voice and safety listening during historic aviation accidents
Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts capture audio data within cockpit environments. This aids the investigation of causal factors contributing to aviation accidents by revealing communication and…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Safety Science)
Safety voice and safety listening during aviation accidents: Cockpit voice recordings reveal that speaking-up to power is not enough
Abstract Safety voice is theorised as an important factor for mitigating accidents, but behavioural research during actual hazards has been scant.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗