Cessna 172N N909HC

Summary

On 16 September 2015 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N909HC, operated by Hesston College, was involved in an accident near Herington, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 September 2015 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Herington, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Herington Rgnl (HRU)

Coordinates

38.6975, -96.8081

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N909HC

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Hesston College

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lawrence → Herington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA15CA274

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain pitch control during the landing roll, which resulted in a porpoise.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the landing roll, "all of a sudden the plane started ballooning up from a strong gust of wind, I lowered the nose of the airplane slightly as to avoid a stall." He reported that, "I was then forced back to the ground violently and once again ballooned up" and that the airplane, "ballooned up and was forced down 5 times." Once the porpoising ceased, the pilot taxied off the runway without further incident. A post flight inspection revealed substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage, the firewall, and the floor boards underneath the rudder pedals.   The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.