Probable cause
The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
NTSB analysis
The student pilot reported that after completing her first solo cross-country flight she landed without incident. She then elected to practice takeoffs and landings in the airport traffic pattern. During the subsequent landing, the airplane touched down hard and bounced before coming to rest on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and skin deformation just forward of the pilot’s side door. The student pilot reported that she did not experience any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA13CA038 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Oct 20, 2012
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Weyers Cave, Virginia
- Nearest airport
- Shenandoah Valley (SHD)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 172H
- N-number
- N1431F
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.