- Date
- April 12, 1989, 16:35 local (20:35 UTC)
- Place
- Xenia, OH
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4898GCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890412007899A
- Case key
- 8014
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
The pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision and improper use of the flaps. Contributing was the downdraft.
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.
Analysis
The plt rprtd the acft encountered a downdraft when it was on a short final apch. He applied power & elected to retract the wing flaps to reduce drag & minimize the sink rate, but the flaps were retracted to the full up position. Also, to avoid a steep embankment at the apch end of the rwy, the plt turned the acft slightly to the left. However, the acft continued to settle & subsequently hit the ground about 150 ft left of the rwy & 5 ft below the crest of the slope. Nearby at dayton, OH, the wind was rprtd to be from 250 deg at 16 gusting 22 KTS.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4898G
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172273445
- Airframe hours
- 4,527
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Brentco Aerial Patrol, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Bentco Aerial Patrol Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 31, 1989 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- French Lick, IN
- Destination
- I19
- Airport
- I19 · Green County, runway 25, 3,972 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 60
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 3,750 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 3,470 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 16 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DAY
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.