Cessna 172 N6616D

Summary

On 20 April 2016 at about 18:43 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N6616D, operated by Camarillo Flight School, was involved in an accident near Camarillo, California, 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

20 April 2016 at 18:43

Classification

Accident

Location

Camarillo, California, United States

Nearest airport

Camarillo (CMA)

Coordinates

34.2136, -119.0944

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N6616D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Camarillo Flight School

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Camarillo → Camarillo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA202

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's incorrect pitch control input, resulting in a porpoise during landing and substantial damage to the airplane's firewall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the student pilot, during the second approach of his first solo flight he noticed that the wind direction changed from 230 degrees magnetic to 210 degrees magnetic, and the wind speed increased from 5 knots to 10 knots. He further reported that the traffic within the pattern was congested with five aircraft. He reported that during his approach, he fixated on his crosswind correction and touched down on the runway too fast, and the airplane bounced. He affirmed that his reaction to the bounce was to pitch the nose down and consequently the airplane porpoised down the runway. Substantial damage was sustained to the firewall. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the airplane prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.