N144ME – CESSNA 172S – 2015-03-07 NTSB Accident Report

On March 07, 2015, a Cessna 172S (N144ME) was involved in an incident near Richmond, VA. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The student pilot's inadequate landing flare which resulted in a hard landing and substantial damage to the airplane.

During a full stop landing at an airport on the second leg of a multiple leg cross country flight, the student pilot landed, the airplane bounced, and then touched down again, hard on the nose landing gear. The student pilot then lost directional control, the airplane drifted towards the left side of the runway, and then came to rest. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane had incurred substantial damage. The tip of one propeller blade was bent, the nose wheel landing gear tire was flat, the cabin floor was wrinkled, the belly skin of the fuselage was wrinkled, and the firewall was buckled. The student pilot was uninjured, and he advised that he had no mechanical problems prior to the accident.

This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA15CA150. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N144ME.