Cessna 172 N6097G

Summary

On 15 October 2019 at about 18:47 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N6097G, operated by Cardinal Wings Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Louisville, Kentucky, 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

15 October 2019 at 18:47

Classification

Accident

Location

Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Bowman Field (LOU)

Coordinates

38.2278, -85.6647

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N6097G

Category

Airplane

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

Cardinal Wings Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Georgetown → Louisville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA20CA023

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a porpoised landing, a subsequent hard landing on grass left of the runway, and a nose-over. Contributing to the accident was the student’s self-imposed pressure to land the airplane

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The solo student pilot reported that, while in the traffic pattern to land, the flaps would not lower, and he had to move the flap lever up and down several times to troubleshoot. Once on the base leg, he realized that the airplane was faster than normal. On final, he extended the flaps to 30° but felt the airplane was too high and fast. He reduced power to correct, and over the threshold, the airplane encountered a crosswind which pushed the airplane to the left of the runway centerline. He reduced power to idle and pushed the nose down "too quickly." The nose landing gear hit the runway first, the airplane porpoised, and he attempted to pitch the nose up to decrease airspeed. He was then worried that the airplane would aerodynamically stall "too high in the air," so he pitched the nose down. The airplane landed hard in the grass left of the runway, the nose dug into the ground, and the airplane came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and that he should have added full power and performed a go-around. He added that he felt pressured to land the airplane to "get out of everyone's way."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.