- Date
- May 22, 2002, 17:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Cedar City, UT
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N78760Cessna 172K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 1, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 54762
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
the pilot's inadvertent stall/mush during the landing flare/touchdown. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswind weather conditions.
Analysis
The pilot said that he was in the landing flare, and the stall horn was sounding. He said a gust of wind from the right "caught" him and the airplane was forced airborne again. The pilot said the wind gust stopped and the airplane "slammed" down onto the runway. The firewall and engine mount were bent, and the main landing gear box assembly and left door frame were distorted/bent.
Factual narrative
On May 22, 2002, at approximately 1715 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172K, N78760, was substantially damaged during landing at Cedar City Regional Airport, Cedar City, Utah. The private pilot and his two passengers were not injured. Parowan Aero Services, Inc., Parowan, Utah, was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight that originated approximately 45 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan.
The pilot said that he was in the landing flare, and the stall horn was sounding. He said a gust of wind from the right "caught" him and the airplane was forced airborne again. The pilot said the wind gust stopped and the airplane "slammed" down onto the runway. The firewall and engine mount were bent, and the main landing gear box assembly and left door frame were distorted/bent.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N78760
- Reported as
- Cessna 172K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17257749
- Airframe hours
- 12,576
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Parowan Aero Services
- Registered owner
- Cnh LLC.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 7, 2002 · 22 hours before
- Departed
- CDC · Cedar City, UT
- Airport
- CDC · Cedar City Regional Arpt, runway 26, 4,822 × 60 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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- April 30, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 105 total · 90 in this make and model · 81 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- CDC
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 10, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 508 KB in all.