- Date
- June 17, 1989, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Vernon, AL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7939UCessna 172F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890617015959A
- Case key
- 7898
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Improper maintenance of the spark plugs by the pilot/mechanic which resulted in a partial loss of engine power, and the pilot's failure to clear trees during an emergency landing in an open field resulting in an inadvertent stall.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7939U
- Reported as
- Cessna 172F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17251939
- Airframe hours
- 2,209
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robinson, Hurskin C.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 3, 1983 · 44 hours before
- Departed
- M55 · Vernon, AL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 236 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CBM, 19 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.