- Date
- November 16, 2004, 12:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- Loveland, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N54165Cessna 172P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 8, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20041116034229A
- Case key
- 60726
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 maintain directional control during landing and the student pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision making. Contributing factors include the quartering tail wind, the high airspeed, and the airport sign.
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 student stated that he was landing on runway 33. As he touched down, "the nose of the [air]plane was pointed to the right side of the runway" and his airspeed was high. He attempted to correct with rudder; however, the airplane departed the runway to the right, impacted an airport sign and continued across an adjacent taxiway. The airplane was substantially damaged. A postaccident examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies. The aviation routine weather (METAR) reported the winds at the time of the accident as 130 degrees at 8 knots.
Factual narrative
On November 16, 2004, approximately 1245 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172P, N54165, piloted by a student pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted a sign during the landing roll at Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL), Loveland, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The solo instructional flight was being conducted on a visual flight rules flight plan under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot reported no injuries. The cross-country flight originated in Colorado Springs, Colorado, approximately 1200 and the pilot had performed a touch and go landing at Jefferson County Airport (BJC), Broomfield, Colorado.
According to the accident report submitted by the student, he was landing on runway 33. The student stated that as he touched down, "the nose of the [air]plane was pointed to the right side of the runway" and his airspeed was high. He attempted to correct with rudder; however, the airplane departed the runway to the right, impacted an airport sign and continued across an adjacent taxiway. The left main landing gear collapsed inward, the rear horizontal spar was bent midspan, and two ribs in the left wing had 3 inch lacerations. A postaccident examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies.
The FNL aviation routine weather (METAR) reported the winds at the time of the accident as 130 degrees at 8 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54165
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274897
- Airframe hours
- 9,333.3
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Fandango Flying LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 11, 2004 · 35.8 hours before
- Departed
- BJC · Denver, CO
- Destination
- COS · Colorado Spring, CO
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- FNL · Fort Collins-Loveland Muni, runway 33, 8,500 × 100 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 25
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 42 total · 42 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- FNL, 1 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.