NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX96LA157
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the pilot misjudged the flare.
Factual narrative
On April 6, 1996, at 1015 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 172, N62038, left wing contacted the asphalt surface while landing on runway 03 at Sedona Airport, Sedona, Arizona. The pilot was completing a visual flight rules personal flight. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. Neither the certificated private pilot nor his two passengers were injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, about 0900 hours. A ground witness reported that he observed the airplane landing on runway 03. When the airplane began to flare, the left wing dropped and it contacted the runway, followed by the nose landing gear. He said that the surface winds were less than 5 knots. The airport's automated weather observation system (AWOS) showed that the surface winds were from 020 degrees at 6 knots, gusting to 15 knots. The pilot said in a telephone interview conducted on April 6, 1996, at 1030 hours, that he entered the traffic pattern from over the airport. He said that he received the landing information before he entered the traffic pattern and while on final approach. When he flared the airplane about 10 feet above the ground, the airplane encountered a dust devil which pushed the airplane to the right. The pilot applied power to execute a go-around, but the left wing dropped and contacted the runway, followed by the nose landing gear. The pilot also said that the airplane did not experience any preimpact malfunctions or failures. The pilot said that he encountered a dust devil when he flared the airplane for landing. He applied power, but the left wing and nose dropped and contacted the runway. A ground witness said that the airplane's left wing dropped when the pilot flared the airplane, but he did not report any dust devil activity in the area. He said that the surface winds were less than 5 knots. The AWOS reported the surface winds at 6 knots, gusting to 15 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1996_LAX96LA157.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
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Related research
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Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). 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.
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Conference Paper
A Training Study to Improve Monitoring During A Go-Around
As part of an FAA program to improve go-around (GA) safety, we were asked to determine if we could improve the performance of the Pilot Monitoring (PM) during a GA maneuver.
- Flight Safety Foundation 2024 · FSF / AeroSafety World
Go-Around Safety Forum Findings
Foundation Go-Around Safety Forum technical findings — examines why pilots fail to execute go-arounds when criteria are met (stabilized approach gate not met, energy state out of envelope, traffic con…
- Semantic Scholar 2022 · Article (Journal of Safety Research)
Go-around accidents and general aviation safety.
INTRODUCTION Changes in General Aviation (GA) accident rates, specifically in the go-around phase, are examined by comparing the number of accidents, the proportion of fatal accidents, and the proport…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Aerospace)
Classification and Analysis of Go-Arounds in Commercial Aviation Using ADS-B Data
Go-arounds are a necessary aspect of commercial aviation and are conducted after a landing attempt has been aborted. It is necessary to conduct go-arounds in the safest possible manner, as go-arounds …
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