- Date
- September 29, 1988, 13:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Questa, NM
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N8517BCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 25, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880929046349A
- Case key
- 17544
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 plt and 1 pax were taking off using 2,500 ft of a 4,000 x 50 ft dirt strip with a d/a of 9,200 ft. during intial climb the plt noticed a sink rate. The plt said he varied the angle of flaps from 5 to 25 deg 'in search of lift.' The right wing and right main gear struck a ridge 350 ft from the point of liftoff. The acft pivoted right and came to rest 35 ft from the point of impact. The fuselage was bent and both wings were flexed upward. New Mexico state police found a quantity (less than an ounce) of marijuana in the aircraft. The pilot refused to submit to a drug test.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8517B
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 36217
- Airframe hours
- 7,030
- Engine
- Continental O-300-A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Abbott, Charles B.
- Registered owner
- Abbott, Charles B
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 1989 · 200 hours before
- Departed
- SKI · Taos, NM
- Destination
- E91 · Eagle Nest, NM
- Airport
- NONE · Questa
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
- 28
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 191 total · 191 in this make and model · 139 as pilot in command · 57 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 80 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.