- Date
- December 29, 2007, 11:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Crystal Falls, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8191UCessna 172F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Grand Rapids, MI
- Case key
- 67479
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 rough, unsuitable terrain encountered during the landing which resulted in the total failure of the nose landing gear.
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 airplane was substantially damaged during landing on a frozen lake when the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that he was landing on a frozen lake to visit ice-fisherman. He stated that he had landed at one end of the lake and spent about 20 minutes talking to some fishermen and then got back in the airplane and flew to the opposite end of the lake. Upon landing, the nose landing gear struck a crack in the ice and collapsed. The airplane then slid about 400 feet before coming to rest. Examination of the airplane revealed damage to the engine, propeller and firewall.
Factual narrative
The airplane was substantially damaged during landing on a frozen lake when the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that he was landing on a frozen lake to visit ice-fisherman. He stated that he had landed at one end of the lake and spent about 20 minutes talking to some fishermen and then got back in the airplane and flew to the opposite end of the lake. Upon landing, the nose landing gear struck a crack in the ice and collapsed. The airplane then slid about 400 feet before coming to rest. Examination of the airplane revealed damage to the engine, propeller and firewall.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8191U
- Reported as
- Cessna 172F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17252091
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Crystal Falls, MI
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2007
- Flight hours
- 1,882 total · 800 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day