# Accident 19970707017129A: Cessna 172N, Joshua Tree, CA, July 7, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 7, 1997, 15:37 local time
- Place: Joshua Tree, CA
- Airport: Hi Desert Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.1493° N, 116.2707° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1493&lon=-116.2707&mi=10
- Aircraft: N738ET (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Reported engine: LYC O320H2AD
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 571 total, 520 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX97LA237](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97LA237) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970707017129A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRCRAFT LANDED, RAN OFF END OF RUNWAY, AND FLIPPED OVER. (.4) ON JULY 7, 1997, AT 1537 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 172N, N738ET, OVERRAN RUNWAY 6 ON LANDING AT THE JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT AND COLLIDED WITH A FENCE AND A BERM, THEN NOSED OVER. THE AIRCRAFT WAS RENTED BY THE PILOT FROM MORCOM AVIATION SERVICES OF EVERETT, WASHINGTON, FOR A CROSS-COUNTRY PERSONAL FLIGHT TO JOSHUA TREE. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS TWO PASSENGERS SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT AT 1415. IN HIS WRITTEN STATEMENT, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHILE HE WAS SETTING UP THE APPROACH INTO THE JOSHUA TREE AIRPORT, HE WAS "UNABLE TO DETERMINE ANY SUBSTANTIAL WIND BY GROUND OBSERVATION OR FROM ANY EFFECT ON THE PATH OF THE AIRCRAFT OVER TERRAIN." HE STATED THAT AFTER DETERMINING THAT THERE WAS NO OTHER TRAFFIC IN THE AREA, HE MADE A LOW PASS OVER RUNWAY 6 AND OBSERVED THE WINDSOCK TO SHOW A MODERATE CROSSWIND FROM THE NORTH. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AFTER GOING AROUND, HE MADE A NORMAL APPROACH BUT LANDED LONG AND   WITH A SLIGHT BOUNCE. HE THEN OVERRAN THE RUNWAY AND COLLIDED WITH A FENCE AND A BERM, THEN NOSED OVER. THE PILOT FURTHER REPORTED THAT AFTER THE ACCIDENT HE OBSERVED THE WINDSOCK TO SHOW A TAILWIND FOR LANDING ON RUNWAY 6, AND HE WAS TOLD THAT THE WINDS WERE COMING FROM 240 DEGREES AT APPROXIMATELY 12 KNOTS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. HE STATED THAT HE "MISJUDGED THE STOPPING DISTANCE AND FAILED TO INITIATE A GO-AROUND."

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX97LA237](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97LA237), Jul 7, 1997: Cessna 172N (N738ET), Joshua Tree, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to adequately judge the wind direction and to select the correct runway, which resulted in a downwind landing; and his failure to go around, while there was sufficient runway…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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