- Date
- November 17, 2020, 14:35 local (20:35 UTC)
- Place
- Johnson City, KS
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2376NCessna 120
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20201117017249A
- Case key
- 102302
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 decision to fly the airplane at too low an altitude resulting in the airplane impacting terrain.
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 he had just departed from the airport and saw a family member working in an adjacent field and decided to perform a flyby. While performing a low-level left turn over the field, he felt the left wing dropping toward the ground. The pilot immediately applied full right aileron, at which point, the left wing began dragging on the ground. The airplane’s propeller subsequently impacted the ground, followed by the right wing, and the airplane slid to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported if he had been at a higher altitude, the accident would not have happened.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2376N
- Reported as
- Cessna 120
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12625
- Built
- 1947
- Airframe hours
- 3,177
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 6, 2020
- Destination
- Same as departure
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
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 24, 2018
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 393 total · 41 in this make and model · 359 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 51 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Observed at
- JHN, 6.4 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 17, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.7 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.