- Date
- November 22, 2017, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Maple Lake, MN
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N734VHCessna 172N
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 28, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20171122019729A
- Case key
- 96500
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 while landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.
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 reported that he had a "rough landing" and the "right rear strut wheel broke." Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane touched down on the runway, and skid marks were found on the runway and grass infield. The airplane exited the runway, crossed over a taxiway, impacted a rock drainage revetment, and then impacted a hangar about 2,100 ft from the touchdown point. The landing gear strut did not separate from the airplane until about 100 ft before impact with the hangar. Examination of the airplane wreckage did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Thus, the pilot likely failed to maintain directional control while landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Factual narrative
On November 22, 2017, about 1200 central standard time, a Cessna 172N airplane, N734VH, registered to a private individual, was substantially damaged after a landing gear collapse and runway excursion at the Maple Lake Municipal Airport (MGG), Maple Lake, Minnesota. The pilot and 2 passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight originated at 1100 from the Cumberland Municipal Airport (UMB), Cumberland, Wisconsin. The pilot initially reported that while landing on runway 28, he had a "rough landing," the "right rear strut wheel broke," and the airplane skidded into a hangar. Examination of the accident site and aircraft by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane touched down on runway 28 and slid onto the grass infield about 1,000 feet beyond the touchdown point. The aircraft crossed over a taxiway, impacted a rock drainage revetment, and then impacted a hangar. The total distance traveled by the airplane was about 2,100 feet from touchdown to impact with the hangar. Skid marks on the runway and grass correlated to the airplane's path during the excursion and evidence at the site showed that the landing gear strut separated from the airplane about 100-feet prior to impact with the hangar. Examination of the airplane wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact anomalies. The pilot did not provide any additional information or an NTSB Form 6120. Figure 1. Approximate Location of Touchdown and Impact with Hangar
Aircraft
- Registration
- N734VH
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N (N)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17269145
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 7,980
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 2016 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- UMB · Cumberland, WI
- Destination
- MGG · Maple Lake, MN
- Airport
- MGG · Maple Lake Municipal, runway 28, 2,796 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- August 1, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 120 total · 100 in this make and model · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 23 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- MGG
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 27, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.9 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.
Other investigations on N734VH · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.