- Date
- May 16, 1999, 12:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Double Springs, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N20417Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990516005199A
- Case key
- 46333
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 directional control of the aircraft during landing. A factor was the pilot's lack of experience.
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 student pilot reported that, while attempting a landing on runway 03, the airplane encountered a crosswind and veered off the left side of the runway. He applied slight power to settle the airplane down gently, and realized the wind had blown him off the runway. He applied carburetor heat, retracted flaps, and applied power. The airplane went down an embankment, and the left wing collided with a tree at the bottom of the embankment where the airplane came to rest. Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or a component failure. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
Factual narrative
On May 16, 1999, at 1245 central daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N20417, collided with trees on the departure end of runway 03 at the Double Springs Airport in Double Springs, Alabama. The airplane was operated by the student pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local training flight. The student pilot was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The training flight departed Jasper Airport in Jasper, Alabama, at 1215.
According to the student pilot, while attempting a landing on runway 03, the airplane encountered a crosswind and veered off the left side of the runway. He applied slight power to settle the airplane down gently, and realized the wind had blown him off the runway. He applied carburetor heat, retracted flaps, and applied power. The airplane went down an embankment, and the left wing collided with a tree at the bottom of the embankment where the airplane came to rest.
Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or a component failure. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20417
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17261272
- Airframe hours
- 3,443
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dana Lane
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 16, 1998 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- JFX · Jasper, AL
- Destination
- 3M2 · Double Springs, AL
- Airport
- 3M2 · Double Springs, runway 3, 3,403 × 78 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 65 total · 58 in this make and model · 31 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSL, 33 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.