- Date
- February 8, 2013, 10:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Herington, KS
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N88NGCessna 177RG
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 12, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20130208003799A
- Case key
- 86182
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 adequate airspeed during the approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot and two passengers were about 2 hours into a cross-country flight when they decided to land for a rest stop. The pilot reported that he saw some breaks in the clouds below him, so he descended to land at a nearby airport. When the pilot saw the runway, he realized that he was too close to land, so he circled for a better approach. The pilot stated that while turning onto the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, he failed to maintain airspeed and stalled the airplane. The airplane impacted a muddy wheat field with the landing gear retracted and came to rest in an upright position. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the engine firewall and fuselage.
Factual narrative
The pilot and two passengers were on a cross-country flight; about two hours into the flight they decided to land for a rest stop. The pilot reported that he saw some breaks in the clouds below him, so he descended to land at a nearby airport. When the pilot saw the runway, he was too close to land, so he circled to the right for a better approach. The pilot stated that while turning onto the downwind leg he failed to keep enough airspeed and stalled the airplane. He added that he didn’t have time to extend the landing gear. The airplane impacted a muddy wheat field and came to rest in an upright position. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the engine firewall and fuselage, aft of the door posts.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N88NG
- Reported as
- Cessna 177RG
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 177RG1223
- Airframe hours
- 4,446.3
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 5, 2012
- Departed
- 8V3 · Parkston, SD
- Destination
- KHRU · Herington, KS
- Airport
- KHRU · Herington Reginal Airport
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 18, 2012
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,212 total · 75 in this make and model · 971 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 600 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.31 inHg
- Observed at
- KFRI, 20 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 22, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.