Cessna 172 N172BJ accident near Pearland, Texas

Probable cause

The student pilot's failure to control the airplane's descent rate during the short-field landing, resulting in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight examiner's delayed response.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot stated that he was performing a short-field landing to runway 14 during his flight examination. Approximately 50 feet above ground level it was apparent to the pilot that he was not going to land on his intended touchdown point, and the flight examiner in the right seat directed the pilot to go around. The student pilot applied full power, however the airplane landed hard before becoming airborne again. The flight examiner took over the flight controls and successfully landed the airplane. An examination of the airplane revealed that the the nose gear was bent and that the firewall and fuselage skin aft of the nose gear was wrinkled. The pilot and examiner were not injured. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane and that weather was not a factor.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN10CA075 for the full record.