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WPR13CA332

2013-07-17 · Santa Barbra, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport KSBA

Current FAA registration · N971TA

Make / Model
CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture
2002 · 11 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20020923
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AD8906

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's inadequate landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

During the student pilot's first approach for landing she felt she was too high and did a go-around. On the second approach the airplane landed hard, and the propeller struck the runway. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed a damaged propeller, and substantial damage to the firewall and fuselage floor. The operator reported that there were no known/reported mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. During the student pilot's first approach for landing she felt she was too high and did a go-around. On the second approach the airplane landed hard, and the propeller struck the runway. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed a damaged propeller, and substantial damage to the firewall and fuselage floor. The operator reported that there were no known/reported mechanical malfunctions or failures 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 Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_WPR13CA332.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 (go-around). All research papers