# Accident 20100130027349A: Cessna 172, Pahrump, NV, January 30, 2010

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 30, 2010, 09:45 local time
- Place: Pahrump, NV
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.0667° N, 115.8083° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0667&lon=-115.8083&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8959B, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8959B-2017-09-26) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172 (registry code 2072402, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-300 series (registry code 17022, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR C-145
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 143 total, 138 in this make and model, 22 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR10LA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10LA123) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100130027349A

## Narrative

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

PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER DEPARTED VGT AT APPROXIMATELY 0715 HOURS FOR L61 (SHOSHONE). AIRCRAFT HAD FULL FUEL LOAD. LANDED SAFELY AT SHOSHONE (L61) AFTER APPROXIMATE 35 MINUTE FLIGHT. PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER DEPARTED SHOSHONE, L61, FOR RETURN FLIGHT TO NORTH LAS VEGAS, VGT, AT APPROXIMATELY 0930. PILOT WAS AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATLEY 8100MSL, WITH TERRAIN UNDERNEATH AT 4000 TO 4500MSL. PILOT HEARD 3 LOUD POPS AND THE ENGINE RPM WENT FROM 2300 RPM DOWN TO 1200 RPM. PILOT PERFORMED RESTART PROCEDURE WITH NO POSITIVE RESULT. PILOT TRIMMED THE AIRPLANE FOR BEST GLIDE AND LOOKED FOR BEST PLACE TO LAND IN THE DESERT BENEATH HIM. PILOT SLOWED THE PLANE TILL THE AIRSPEED WAS ABOUT 35 KTS AND COULD NOT KEEP THE AIRCRAFT OFF THE GROUND. PILOT TOUCHED DOWN ON THE MAIN LANDING GEAR (MLG) FOR ABOUT 20 FEET AND THEN THE NOSE LANDING GEAR (NLG). PILOT SAYS WHEN THE NOSE GEAR TOUCHED DOWN IT SANK IN THE DESERT AND COLLAPSED UNDER THE FUSELAGE. THE NOSE GEAR DUG INTO THE DESERT AND THE PLANE FLIPPED OVER ON ITS BACK. FROM INITIAL TOUCHDOWN POINT OF THE MAIN GEAR, THERE WAS 40 FEET TO WHERE THE NOSE OF THE PLANE WAS LOCATED.

## 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 WPR10LA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10LA123), Jan 30, 2010: Cessna 172 (N8959B), Pahrump, NV, substantial damage. Probable cause: Fuel starvation as a result of the improper installation of the carburetor float valve by unknown personnel.

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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