- Date
- March 30, 1999, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mt. Airy, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7821XCessna 172B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990330003139A
- Case key
- 46005
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 failure to maintain proper airspeed during landing and his failure to attain a proper touchdown point on the runway.
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 accident occurred during landing. According to the pilot, he flared the airplane near the end of the runway and the airplane continued to fly about two to three feet above ground. He stated that he had too much airspeed and he had used up about half the 1600 foot grass runway before touching down. The pilot also stated that after touchdown, he knew he could not stop before the end of the runway and that he could not make a go-around because of trees on the west end of the runway. The airplane subsequently departed the runway and collided with a tree. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
Factual narrative
On March 30, 1999, at 1230 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172B, N7821X, collided with a tree during a landing at a private airstrip in Mount Airy, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The private pilot was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Mount Airy Airport Mount Airy, North Carolina, at about 1215 enroute to a private airstrip.
According to the pilot, he flared near the end of the runway and the airplane "floated about two to three feet above ground." He stated that he had "too much airspeed" and he had used about half of the 1600-foot airstrip before touching down. The pilot also stated that after touchdown, he knew he could not stop before the end of the runway and that he "could not make a go-around because of trees on the west end of the runway." The airplane subsequently ran off the runway and collided with a tree.
A review of landing performance data for the Cessna 172 disclosed that, the required landing distance to clear a 50-foot obstacle at sea level is 1250 feet. There is a 20 percent increase in required distance when landing on a grass/sod runway at the maximum gross weight for the airplane. The landing surface at the accident site was a 1600-foot long dry, grass airstrip.
Examination of the accident site disclosed that the airplane departed the runway and collided with a tree. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7821X
- Reported as
- Cessna 172B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17248321
- Airframe hours
- 3,788
- Engine
- Continental O-300-A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Donald L. Holder
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 21, 1998 · 36 hours before
- Departed
- MWK
- Airport
- NONE · Pvt, runway 31, 1,600 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 66
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 824 total · 350 in this make and model · 62 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- INT, 25 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.