# Accident 20201124018429A: Cessna 172N, Manville, NJ, November 24, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 24, 2020, 16:07 local time
- Place: Manville, NJ
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.5244° N, 74.5983° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.5244&lon=-74.5983&mi=10
- Aircraft: N23NJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N23NJ-2022-03-04) (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
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 3,452 total, 371 in this make and model, 63 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA21LA055](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA055) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20201124018429A

## Narrative

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

THE FLIGHT WAS A CIVIL AIR PATROL INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT.  THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED DURING THE FIRST TRAFFIC PATTERN RIGHT AFTER THE INITIAL TAKE OFF.

THE PILOT FLYING STATED THAT ON DOWNWIND TO RUNWAY 7, IT WAS HIS UNDERSTANDING THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A PRACTICE ENGINE OUT LANDING.  WHEREAS, THE CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR STATED THAT IT WAS HER UNDERSTANDING THE IT WAS GOING TO BE A NORMAL APPROACH TO LANDING, AND NOT A PRACTICE POWER OFF LANDING.  BOTH PILOTS STATED THAT ON SHORT FINAL THE PLANE WAS RIGHT OF CENTERLINE.  AS CORRECTION WAS MADE TO THE LEFT, BOTH THE PILOT FLYING AND CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR NOTICED THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOW.   THE PILOT FLYING AND CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR STATED THEY NEEDED MORE POWER, AND WHEN THE CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REACHED FOR THE THROTTLE, THE LEFT WING STRUCK THE TOP OF THE TREE, INITIATING THE ACCIDENT SEQUENCE.

THE TREE THAT WAS STRUCK HAD IMPACT MARKS AT THE TOP OF THE TREE, APPROXIMATELY 18 FEET HIGH.  THE TREE WAS LOCATED 100 FEET FROM THE BEGINNING OF RUNWAY 7.  RUNWAY 7 HAS A DISPLACED THRESHOLD OF 580 FEET.  GIVEN THIS, THE AIRCRAFT WAS AT 18 FEET AGL WHEN IT STRUCK THE TREE, 680 FEET FROM THE LANDING THRESHOLD OF THE RUNWAY.

## 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 ERA21LA055](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA055), Nov 24, 2020: Cessna 172 (N23NJ), Manville, NJ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain a proper glidepath while on approach to the runway, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in the airplane colliding with a tree on final…

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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