# Accident 20010506008059A: Cessna 172N, Wichita, KS, May 6, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 6, 2001, 15:40 local time - Place: Wichita, KS - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.6509° N, 97.4292° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.6509&lon=-97.4292&mi=10 - Aircraft: N733RK, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N733RK-2002-11-19) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI01FA130](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01FA130) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010506008059A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)ON MAY 6, 2001, AT APPROXIMATELY 1540 CDT, A CESSNA, CE-172-N, REGISTRATION N733RK, STRUCK SUPPORT CABLES BETWEEN TWO ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION TOWERS AT THE POINT WHERE THE LINES CROSS A NORTH/SOUTH DRAGSTRIP RACEWAY THAT IS LOCATED NORTH OF WICHITA, KS, ON 61ST STREET NORTH, 1/3 MILE EAST OF RIDGE ROAD. THE AIRCRAFT BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE NORTHERN MOST CABLE, AND DISLODGED 1/2 MILE OF IT FROM THE BINDINGS THEN IMPACTED THE RACEWAY ABOUT 200 YARDS NORTH OF THE POWER LINES. THE OCCUPANTS,^PRIVACY DATA OMITT^HOLDER OF STUDENT CERTIFICATE ^PRIVACY DATA ^, AND ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ HOLDER OF COMMERICAL CERTIFICATE ^PRIVACY DATA ^AND CFI CERTIFICATE^PRIVACY DATA OMI^, SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED DUE TO THE IMPACT AND POST CRASH FIRE. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION HAS NOT REVEALED ANY MECHANICAL FAILURES OF AIRFRAME OR POWERPLANT. (.19)ON MAY 6, 2001, AT 1540 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 172N, N733RK, OPERATED BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT STRUCK A POWER LINE AND THEN IMPACTED ON TO A DRAG-RACING TRACK, 5 MILES NORTH OF THE WICHITA MID-CONTINENT AIRPORT (ICT), WICHITA, KANSAS. A POST CRASH FIRE ENSUED. VISUA L METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 WITHOUT A FLIGHT PLAN. THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT AND DUAL STUDENT ON BOARD THE AIRPLANE WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE LOCAL FLIGHT DEPARTED COLONEL JAMES JABARA AIRPORT (3KM) AT APPROXIMATELY 1405. AT 1409, A PILOT ON N733RK CONTACTED THE ICT AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER (ATCT) AND TOLD THE LOCAL CONTROLLER THAT THEY WERE WEST-NORTHWEST OUT OF JABARA AIRPORT AT 2,500 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL), AND THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO GO UP TO CHANEY BY THE WEST PRACTICE AREA. THE ICT ATCT LOCAL CONTROLLER CLEARED N733RK AS REQUESTED AND INSTRUCTED THEM TO MAINTAIN 3,000 FEET MSL. AT 1411, THE ICT ATCT LOCAL CONTROLLER TOLD N733RK TO CONTACT APPROACH CONTROL ON RADIO FREQUENCY 126.7 MEGAHERTZ. ONE OF THE PILOTS ACKNOWLEDGED AND CHECKED IN ON THE NEW FREQUENCY. BETWEEN 1411 AND 1455 ICT ATCT MADE OCCASIONAL RADIO CALLS TO N733RK ADVISING THEM OF OTHER AIRCRAFT TRAFFIC IN THEIR AREA. AT 1455, N733RK INFORMED ICT ATCT THAT THEY WERE LEAVING THEIR AIRSPACE AND THAT THEY WOULD BE DOING SOME GROUND REFERENCE MANEUVERS. THE LOCAL CONTROLLER TOLD THEM TO SWITCH THEIR TRANSPONDER CODE TO 1200 AND INFORMED THEM THAT RADAR SERVICE WAS TERMINATED. SHORTLY AFTER THE TRANSMISSION, THE AIRPLANE DROPPED OFF OF THE RADAR DISPLAY. AT 1506, N733RK INFORMED ICT ATCT THAT THEY WERE GETTING READY TO CROSS KANSAS HIGHWAY 96 AND THEY WOULD BE OPERATING IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AT MAIZE AIRPORT FOR A FEW MINUTES. N733RK ADVISED ICT ATCT THAT THEY WOULD REMAIN VFR AT OR BELOW 2,500 FEET MSL. SEVERAL WITNESSES SAW THE AIRPLANE FLYING LOW IN THE VICINITY OF THE WICHITA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY AT 6100 NORTH RIDGE ROAD. AT 1540, ONE WITNESS REPORTED HEARING TWO BLASTS LIKE A SHOTGUN. THE WITNESS SAID SHE AND HER FRIENDS DROVE OVER TO WHERE THEY THOUGHT THE SOUND HAD COME FROM. THEY FOUND THE AIRPLANE LYING ON THE GUARDRAIL OF THE RACETRACK TOTALLY ON FIRE. A SECOND WITNESS WORKING IN HIS YARD JUST NORTH OF THE RACETRACK SAID HE HEARD THE SOUND OF A SMALL AIRPLANE, STOPPED WHAT HE WAS DOING, AND SEARCHED TO GAIN SIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE. HE SAID THAT HE HAD A CLEAR VIEW OF THE AIRPLANE. IT WAS TRAVELING NORTH-NORTHWEST AT AN ALTITUDE OF 150 TO 200 FEET AND DESCENDING SLIGHTLY. THE WITNESS SAID THE ENGINE SPEED WAS VERY HIGH, BUT SOUNDED NORMAL, AND THE FLAPS WERE UP. THE WITNESS WATCHED THE AIRPLANE UNTIL HE LOST SIGHT OF IT BEHIND SOME TREES. "ABOUT THE TIME I LOST VISUAL CONTACT I HEARD THE METALLIC SOUND AND NOTICED THAT ALL THE POWER WIRES (EAST AND WEST) WERE BOUNCING." THE WITNESS SAID HE RAN INTO THE HOUSE TO CALL 9-1-1, BUT THE PHONES WERE DEAD AND THERE WAS NO POWER TO THE HOUSE. ## 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 CHI01FA130](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01FA130), May 6, 2001: Cessna 172N (N733RK), Wichita, KS, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the student pilot not maintaining clearance from the tower support wire during the practice emergency landing maneuver and the instructor pilot's inadequate supervision of the student pilot. Factors… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.