- Date
- June 18, 1991, 21:25 local (Jun 19, 1991, 02:25 UTC)
- Place
- Hawley, MN
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9431DCessna 172RG
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910618022469A
- Case key
- 15102
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
Inattentiveness of both the flight instructor and the student pilot, and failure to use carburetor heat. A factor related to the accident is the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing.
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 private rated student pilot and certified flight instructor were on a VFR cross country flight. Twenty miles from the intended destination, student pilot started descent from cruising altitude of 6,500 feet. Approximately four minutes later the engine lost power. A forced landing was made in a field. During landing roll the aircraft hit a ditch separating the field the pilot landed in and the field adjacent to it. After removal from the field, the engine was started, and ran without any problems. Conditions were favorable for carburetor icing, temperature 72 degrees f, dew point 53 degrees f.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9431D
- Reported as
- Cessna 172RG
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172RG1159
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-F1A6, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Crystal Shampock, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- MIC · Minneapolis, MN
- Destination
- FAR · Fargo, ND
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
- 32
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,692 total · 82 in this make and model · 1,642 as pilot in command · 205 in the last 90 days · 65 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAR, 20 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.
Other investigations on N9431D · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.