ERA09CA301

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172N · Tunkhannock, PA · May 21, 2009

Accident · No injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
May 21, 2009, 14:15 UTC
Place
Tunkhannock, PA
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N9492ECessna 172N
Defining event
Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report July 22, 2010
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20090521006839A
Case key
73883

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's failure to attain the proper touchdown point while landing with a tailwind.

Findings · 2

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Action: incorrect action performancePersonnel issues › Action/decision · PilotCessna 172N: 29 casesAll aircraft: 1,386 casesProbable cause
Wind: tailwindEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on equipmentCessna 172N: 3 casesAll aircraft: 594 cases

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

According to the pilot, he checked the wind sock, then flew a "standard" traffic pattern at a final approach speed of 70 knots and 20-degrees flaps. He subsequently landed the airplane on runway 1, a 2,007-foot-long runway, “a few hundred feet past the threshold,” and it "seem[ed] as though [he] had a wind shift which became a tailwind." The pilot's subsequent application of brakes did not slow the airplane and during an attempt to turn off the runway, the airplane "would not steer." The airplane overran the end of the runway, went down a 10-foot embankment, nosed over, and sustained damage to the vertical stabilizer and left wing. Winds, recorded at an airport 15 miles to the southeast about the time of the accident, were from 230 degrees true at 9 knots. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, he checked the wind sock, then flew a "standard" traffic pattern at a final approach speed of 70 knots and 20-degrees flaps. He subsequently landed the airplane on runway 1, a 2,007-foot runway, “a few hundred feet past the threshold,” and it "seem[ed] as though [he] had a wind shift which became a tailwind." The pilot's subsequent application of brakes did not slow the airplane and during an attempt to turn off the runway, the airplane "would not steer." The airplane overran the end of the runway, went down a 10-foot embankment, nosed over, and sustained damage to the vertical stabilizer and left wing. Winds, recorded at an airport 15 miles to the southeast about the time of the accident, were from 230 degrees true at 9 knots. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Aircraft

Registration
N9492E
Reported as
Cessna 172N
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17272280
Airframe hours
2,284
Engine
Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · July 2, 2008
Departed
WBW · Wilkes-Barre, PA
Destination
76N · Tunkhannock, PA
Airport
76N · Skyhaven Airport, runway 01, 2,007 × 50 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
72
Injuries
None
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
May 11, 2008
Seat
Left
Flight hours
2,205 total · 1,326 in this make and model · 2,205 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
230° at 9 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
73 °F, dew point 39 °F
Altimeter
30.29 inHg
Observed at
AVP, 15 nm away

Docket · 3

The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 21, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.2 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.