# Accident 20040103000249A: Cessna 172N, Hayfork, CA, January 3, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 3, 2004, 14:00 local time
- Place: Hayfork, CA
- Airport: Hayfork Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.5472° N, 123.1817° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.5472&lon=-123.1817&mi=10
- Aircraft: N390BV (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Pilot flight hours: 400 total, 100 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX04CA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04CA085) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040103000249A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE PILOT NOTICED TRACKS IN THE SNOW WHILE ORBITING THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT STATED THE TRACKS WENT FROM THE LANDING AREA TO THE PARKING AREA. THE PILOT BELIEVED ANOTHER AIRCRAFT MADE THE TRACKS; HE PLANNED ON USING THE SAME TRACKS, AND HE PLANNED TO LAND IN THE TRACKS. FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND SCENE DIAGRAM SUBMITTED BY TRINITY COUNTRY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT IT APPEARS THAT THE PILOT LANDED NOSE FIRST FOLLOWED BY THE MAIN GEAR. IT APPEARS THAT SNOW BUILT UP UNDER THE WHEEL PANTS TO THE POINT WHERE THE LEFT GEAR LIFTED UP OUT OF THE SNOW AND THE RIGHT WING TIP HIT THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED IN LEFT TURN AND NOSED UP HITTING THE PROPELLER SPINNER AND THE PROPELLER TIPS. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED IN A 270 DEGREE TURN STRIKING THE LEFT WING TIP CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT.

## 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 LAX04CA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04CA085), Jan 3, 2004: Cessna 172N (N390BV), Hayfork, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's inadequate in-flight decision to attempt a landing on a snow covered runway without ascertaining the depth of the snow cover.

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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