# Accident 20230102000649A: Cessna 172, Watsonville, CA, January 2, 2023

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 2, 2023, 14:35 local time
- Place: Watsonville, CA
- Airport: Watsonville Municipal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.9357° N, 121.7896° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at WATSONVILLE MUNI (WVI), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.9357&lon=-121.7896&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7181A, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7181A) (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 0-300 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 190 total, 190 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230102000649A

## Narrative

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

ON JANUARY 2, 2023, AT APPROXIMATELY 2:35 PM LOCAL, WHILE CONDUCTING A VFR LANDING PATTERN APPROACH FROM THE DOWNWIND POSITION FOR RUNWAY 20 AT WATSONVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT IN WATSONVILLE, CA UNDER VMC, A CESSNA 172 FLOWN SOLO BY A STUDENT PILOT STRUCK POWER LINES APPROXIMATELY 650 FEET SHORT OF THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD AND IMPACTED THE GROUND ON AIRPORT PROPERTY.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE PILOT SUFFERED SERIOUS INJURIES.  THE STUDENT PILOT HAD THE PROPER ENDORSEMENTS TO CONDUCT THE FLIGHT.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

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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