- Date
- August 4, 1999, 13:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N733CKCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 2, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990804047179A
- Case key
- 46924
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 unforecasted sudden wind change, and the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A factor was the down sloping terrain next to 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
The student pilot was in the landing flare when the wind shifted from the left tailwind to a right tailwind. He said that the wing velocity suddenly tripled, and the airplane's right wing was thrown up at a radical angle. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and went down a steep slope, cartwheeled, and came to rest nose down.
Factual narrative
On August 4, 1999, approximately 1315 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N733CK, was substantially damaged when it departed the runway during landing roll at Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado. The student pilot, the sole occupant aboard the airplane, was not injured. The airplane was operated by a private individual under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local solo instructional flight that originated approximately 10 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
The student pilot said that this was his second supervised solo, and that he was planning to stay in the traffic pattern to perform touch-and-go landings. He said that while he was on downwind leg, the tower reported a small rain shower over the center of the runway. The student pilot said that the wind had been out of the north, but when he turned final for runway 35L, he had a light left tailwind. He said that when he began to flare the airplane, the wind changed to a right tailwind and "tripled in strength."
The student pilot said that "the right wing of the plane was thrown up at a radical angle." He said the airplane departed the left side of the runway and proceeded down a steep slope, cartwheeled, and came to rest nose down.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N733CK
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268189
- Airframe hours
- 8,919
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert A. Estock
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 11, 1999 · 81 hours before
- Departed
- APA
- Airport
- APA · Centennial Airport, runway 35L, 7,004 × 77 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
- 61
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 19 total · 19 in this make and model · 2 as pilot in command · 19 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- APA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.