Cessna 172 accident near Emporia, Virginia, June 28, 2017
On June 28, 2017 at about 4:45 pm local time, a 2000 Cessna 172, registered N2460A, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Emporia, Virginia (Emporia-Greensville Rgnl airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed for landing and his improper landing flare and recovery from a bounced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 28, 2017 · about 4:45 pm local time
- Place
- Emporia, Virginia · Emporia-Greensville Rgnl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 R, built 2000 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N2460A · registry record · serial 17280932
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot reported that the flight was his first solo cross-country, and the arrival and departure at his first airport were uneventful. About 8 miles from the second airport, he listened to the airport's automatic weather observation system, which reported that the wind was coming from 020° at 5 knots. He entered the left traffic pattern for runway 34, and while on the downwind leg abeam the end of the runway, he reduced engine power to idle and lowered the wing flaps to 10°. He then turned onto the left base leg and maintained 70 knots and lowered the wing flaps to 30° on final approach, maintaining an airspeed of "between 50 and 54 knots." At the runway numbers, he began to pull back on the control wheel to initiate the landing flare. The airplane's nose then abruptly pitched up and left, which he believed felt like a wind gust. He tried to correct by releasing back pressure on the control wheel and using rudder and ailerons to move back to the right, but the airplane was still left of the runway centerline. Subsequently, the airplane bounced hard numerous times, the propeller struck the runway, and the airplane then departed the runway to the left. During the runway excursion, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane skidded across a taxiway, eventually stopping in the grass. The fuselage and firewall were substantially damaged. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Review of the Pilot's Operating Handbook indicated that the airspeed for a normal landing should have been between 60 and 70 knots with the wing flaps down.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during approach (VFR pattern final)
- Attempted remediation/recovery during approach (VFR pattern final)
- Hard landing during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Attempted remediation/recovery during landing (landing roll)
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Not attained/maintained
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Airspeed › Not attained/maintained
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 64 hours in all; 43 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,033.6 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 5, 2017
- Maximum gross weight: 2,299 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 4,461 hours total
- Operator: Epix Services LLC
The flight
- Departed from: PMZ Plymouth NC at 4:07 pm
- Destination: EMV Emporia VA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 5,010 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.21 inHg
- Observation at 4:35 pm from EMV
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N2460A the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.