# Accident 20160803012769A: Cessna 120, Belen, NM, August 3, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 3, 2016, 07:45 local time
- Place: Belen, NM
- Airport: Alexander Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.6508° N, 106.8269° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.6508&lon=-106.8269&mi=10
- Aircraft: N72580, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N72580-2020-01-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 120 (registry code 2071402, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-120) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85 series (registry code 17008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 120
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR C85 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 13,000 total, 1 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA16CA412](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA412) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160803012769A

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 3, 2016, AT 0745 MDT, A CESSNA 120, N72580, GROUND LOOPED ON LANDING AT ALEXANDER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (E80), BELEN, NEW MEXICO, WHILE ON A FAMILIARIZATION FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, AND THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT MID VALLEY AIRPARK (E98), LOS LUNAS, NEW MEXICO, ON AUGUST 3, 2016, AT 0700 MDT.

## 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 GAA16CA412](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA412), Aug 3, 2016: Cessna 120 (N72580), Belen, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a runway excursion and a ground loop.

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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