- Date
- December 12, 1992, 15:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- La Porte City, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N54959Cessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921212050079A
- Case key
- 15637
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 properly align the airplane with the runway.
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
A landing was being attempted on a snow covered sod airstrip when the accident occurred. The student pilot stated that after takeoff he circled the airstrip to visually identify the landing area from the air. Following aerial maneuver practice the pilot returned to the airstrip to land. Instead of aligning with the airstrip, he lined up for the landing off the left side of the runway between the runway lights and a fence. The airplane contacted 8-10' deep snow on touchdown.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54959
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-75091
- Airframe hours
- 2,020
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Nichols Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Harold Leahy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 13, 1992 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- 6C8
- Airport
- 6C8 · Nichols, runway 8, 2,570 × 94 ft, grass/turf
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 33
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 47 total · 46 in this make and model · 23 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ALO, 14 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.