- Date
- June 19, 1998, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Abilene, KS
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9786LCessna 172P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980619020029A
- Case key
- 43086
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 student pilot's failure to plan his approach so as to be able to stop the airplane on the runway, and the instructor pilot's delay in taking control of the airplane, so as to correct the student's mistake. A factor contributing to this accident was the ditch.
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 dual student was performing a simulated forced landing to the runway. The airplane touched down normally. After rolling down the runway approximately 500 feet, the instructor pilot realized that the airplane was not slowing down. The instructor pilot took control of the airplane and applied heavy braking. Realizing that the airplane was not going to stop on the prepared surface, the instructor pilot guided the airplane onto the hard ground surface overrun. The airplane had almost stopped when 'a hidden ditch appeared.' The instructor pilot said that he did not have time to turn the airplane. The airplane dropped into the ditch. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
On June 19, 1998, at 1300 central daylight time (cdt), a Cessna 172P, N9786L, operated by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage when while performing a simulated forced landing at Abilene Municipal Airport, Kansas, the airplane landed long, went off the end of the runway, and impacted in a ditch. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The instructional flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. There were no injuries reported by the instructor pilot, dual student, or passenger on board. The cross-country flight originated at Salina, Kansas, at 0800 cdt.
In his written statement, the instructor pilot said that the dual student was performing the maneuver to the runway. The airplane touched down normally. The instructor pilot said that after rolling down the runway 500 feet, he realized that the airplane was not slowing down. The instructor pilot took control of the airplane and applied heavy braking. Realizing that the airplane was not going to stop on the prepared surface, the instructor pilot guided the airplane onto the hard ground surface overrun. The airplane had almost stopped when "a hidden ditch appeared." The instructor pilot said that he did not have time to turn the airplane. The airplane dropped into the ditch.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the wreckage at the Abilene Municipal Airport. The airplane's nose wheel was bent aft. The bottom engine cowling was bent upward. The engine mounts and firewall were bent aft and buckled forward. The airplane's left wing forward spar was twisted aft. The left wingtip was crushed inward. Flight control continuity was confirmed. No anomalies were found with the engine, engine controls, or other airplane systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9786L
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17276612
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Civil Air Patrol Inc Natl Hqts
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- SLN · Salina, KS
- Destination
- K78
- Airport
- K78 · Abilene Municipal Airport, runway 17, 4,100 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 52
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,820 total · 800 in this make and model · 1,783 as pilot in command · 59 in the last 90 days · 32 in the last 30 days · 11 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SLN, 21 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.