# NTSB ERA10CA381: Cessna 172N, N6410F, Stonington, ME, July 27, 2010 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 27, 2010, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: Stonington, ME - Coordinates: 44.173053, -68.680274 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.1731&lon=-68.6803&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 76784 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA10CA381 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/76784/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=76784 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA10CA381 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during a crosswind landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 82 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Personnel issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02060000): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02060000/cases.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 137 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02060000/cases.md) - [Wind: crosswind](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034040): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Response/compensation (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 19 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034040/cases.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 1,008 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 26 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 81 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 134 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis According to the pilot, as he flared the airplane for a crosswind landing to runway 25, he encountered a gust of wind. The airplane bounced once on the runway and veered left and right several times before the pilot was "unable to redirect the aircraft back" as it veered off the right side of the runway, into grass which sloped down to a drainage ditch. The pilot attempted to recover the airplane for "several hundred feet," before the right main landing gear got caught in higher grass and mud, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane. He further reported 888 hours of total flight time, including 857 hours in the make and model of the accident airplane. A weather report issued around the time of the accident, at an airport about 19 miles to the southwest, included winds from 290 at 12 knots, gusting to 15 knots. ## Factual narrative According to the pilot, as he flared the airplane for a crosswind landing to runway 25, he encountered a gust of wind. The airplane bounced once on the runway and veered left and right several times before the pilot was "unable to redirect the aircraft back" as it veered off the right side of the runway, into grass which sloped down to a drainage ditch. The pilot attempted to recover the airplane for "several hundred feet," before the right main landing gear got caught in higher grass and mud, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane. He further reported 888 hours of total flight time, including 857 hours in the make and model of the accident airplane. A weather report issued around the time of the accident, at an airport about 19 miles to the southwest, included winds from 290 at 12 knots, gusting to 15 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6410F](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6410F-2012-06-20), registration cancelled 2012-06-20, S/N 17273219, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N - Registry model: [Cessna 172N](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (registry code 2072434) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17273219 - Airframe hours: 3492 - Engines: LYCOMING O-320 SERIES 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 9, 2009 - Departed: 63B, Limington, ME - Destination: 93B, Stonington, ME - Airport: 93B, Stonington Municipal Airport, runway 25, 2,099 × 60 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 7, 2010; seat: left; flight hours: 888 total, 857 in this make and model, 839 as pilot in command, 14 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 290° at 12 knots, gusting 15 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 77 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 29.92 inHg - Observed at: RKD, 19 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20100727040319A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100727040319A), Jul 27, 2010: Cessna 172N, Stonington, ME, Substantial damage. On July 27, 2010 about 1119 eastern daylight time, a Cessna CE-172-N6410F, received substantial damage when on touchdown the pilot encountered a right… ## Docket (7 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 22, 2010, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=76784. 2.9 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 328 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40334729&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Memorandom for Record: Phone Conversation with Pilot (item 2, .PDF, 20 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40334731&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandom%20for%20Record%3A%20Phone%20Conversation%20with%20Pilot-Master.PDF - Memorandum for Record: Phone Conversation with FAA Inspector (item 3, .PDF, 20 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40334730&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20Record%3A%20Phone%20Conversation%20with%20FAA%20Inspector-Master.PDF - Pilot's Statement to Hancock County Sheriff's Department (item 4, .PDF, 531 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40334732&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%27s%20Statement%20to%20Hancock%20County%20Sheriff%27s%20Department-Redacted.PDF - Photo 1: Aircraft at accident scene (photo courtesy of Town of Stonington) (item 5, .PDF, 1.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40335048&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%3A%20Aircraft%20at%20accident%20scene%20(photo%20courtesy%20of%20Town%20of%20Stonington)-Master.PDF - Photo 2: Damage to left wing trailing edge (photo courtesy of FAA) (item 6, .PDF, 260 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40335050&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%3A%20Damage%20to%20left%20wing%20trailing%20edge%20(photo%20courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF - Photo 3: Damage to right wing leading edge (photo courtesy of FAA) (item 7, .PDF, 239 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40335052&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%203%3A%20Damage%20to%20right%20wing%20leading%20edge%20(photo%20courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.