Cessna 172P N99715

Summary

On 21 November 2021 at about 17:00 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N99715 was involved in an accident near Wheeling, Illinois, 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

21 November 2021 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Wheeling, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Chicago Exec (PWK)

Coordinates

42.1224, -87.9067

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N99715

Category

Airplane

Year built

1985

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA043

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing was the student pilot’s self-induced pressure to land after being admonished by the controller.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that he was flying a solo traffic pattern flight when during the final approach to land and configured with 20° of flaps, the airplane began drifting left of the runway centerline. The student pilot applied power to extend the touchdown point while trying to reestablish the airplane over the runway centerline when the airplane “dropped suddenly” onto the runway and began to porpoise. Before the student pilot could recover, the airplane “dropped heavily” a second time, resulting in the nose wheel separating and the airplane departing the left side of the runway. The airplane came to rest on the lower fuselage in the grass. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward and bottom fuselage. The student pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe and engine that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that while in the traffic pattern, the air traffic controller tried to reach him three times with no response. When the student pilot did respond, the controller admonished the student pilot for not paying attention to the radio calls. The student pilot reported that he likely flared too high over the runway and that the admonishment from the controller was “unsettling” and that he should have executed a go-around rather than attempt to land on that approach.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.