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WPR21LA157

2021-04-14 · Bellingham, Washington, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BLI

Current FAA registration · N51380

Make / Model
CESSNA 172P
Year of manufacture
1980 · 41 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19801020
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A6701D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s inadequate flare resulting in a loss of control during landing with a crosswind and subsequent nose over.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that, he configured the airplane for landing on runway 34 and was compensating for a 9 kt left crosswind. The student pilot flared too aggressively, and the airplane ballooned, at which point he lost directional control. The airplane touched down and he applied excessive brake pressure. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to both wings. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Student/instructed pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on equipment

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_WPR21LA157.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 (loss of control). All research papers