20031229035739I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Cessna 172E · Ridgeway, VA · December 29, 2003

Date
December 29, 2003 · 12:30 local
Place
Ridgeway, VA
Airport
Pace Airport
Phase of flight
Level Off Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N3792S
Reported as
Cessna 172E
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
394 total300 in this make and model9 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) The aircraft, as it approached to land on runway 18, drifted over to the FAR right hand side. Before the pilot could correct, a gust of wind lifted up the left wing, whereupon, the aircraft nosed down and struck the grass runway first with the nose gear. The nose gear then sheared off.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) THE AIRCRAFT, AS IT APPROACHED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 18, DRIFTED OVER TO THE FAR RIGHT HAND SIDE. BEFORE THE PILOT COULD CORRECT, A GUST OF WIND LIFTED UP THE LEFT WING, WHEREUPON, THE AIRCRAFT NOSED DOWN AND STRUCK THE GRASS RUNWAY FIRST WITH THE NOSE GEAR. THE NOSE GEAR THEN SHEARED OFF.