# Accident 19980617013969A: Cessna 172R, Indianapolis, IN, June 17, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 17, 1998, 13:58 local time
- Place: Indianapolis, IN
- Airport: Mount Comfort Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.7895° N, 85.7699° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7895&lon=-85.7699&mi=10
- Aircraft: N387MA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N387MA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172R (registry code 2072401, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172r) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 series (registry code 41515, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172R
- Reported engine: LYC IO360L2A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,164 total, 12 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA204](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA204) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980617013969A

## Narrative

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

ACFT PILOT HAD A HEART ATTACK AND PASSED AWAY IN FLIGHT, PASSENGER LANDED THE ACFT WITH ASSIST FROM ANOTHER ACFT (.4)THE PILOT BECAME INCAPACITATED DUE TO A HEART ATTACK DURING THE FLIGHT.  THE 81-YEAR OLD NON-PILOT PASSENGER ASSUMED CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE.  WITH THE ASSISTANCE FROM A COMMERCIAL PILOT IN ANOTHER AIRPLANE THE PASSENGER WAS ABLE TO LAND THE AIRPLANE AT A NEAR-BY AIRPORT.  THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED DURING THE LANDING AND THE AIRPLANE SLID OFF THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY BEFORE COMING TO A STOP.                                                        (-23) ON JUNE 17, 1998, AT APPROXIMATELY 1358 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 172R, N387MA, RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHILE LANDING ON RUNWAY 25 AT THE MOUNT COMFORT AIRPORT, GREENFIELD, INDIANA.  THE PILOT, MR. SICKLE, OF THE AIRPLANE SUFFERED A FATAL HEART ATTACK DURING THE FLIGHT FROM MUNCIE AIRPORT TO INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN AIRPORT.  THE PASSENGER, WHO WAS NOT A PILOT, LANDED THE AIRPLANE WITH ASSISTANCE FROM INDIANAPOLIS APPROACH CONTROL AND THE PILOT OF AIRCRAFT N9476N.  THE PASSENGER WAS NOT INJURED.  THE PILOT, MR. SICKLE, WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE ACCIDENT SITE.

## 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 CHI98LA204](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA204), Jun 17, 1998: Cessna 172R (N387MA), Greenfield, IN, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's incapacitation due to a heart attack. A factor in the accident was the passenger's, a non-pilot, improper recovery from a bounced landing which resulted in an overload failure of the nose…

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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