- Date
- March 7, 2014, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Pittstown, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1319UCessna 172M
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 1, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 88904
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 pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing.
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.
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
The pilot reported that during the landing flare, about 1 to 2 feet above the ground, the airplane drifted right. The right main landing gear then contacted a snowbank along the right side of the runway, which caused the airplane to nose over. The airplane subsequently came to rest inverted adjacent to the runway. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The inspector did not observe any preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane, nor did the pilot report any. The recorded wind at a nearby airport, about the time of the accident, was variable at 6 knots.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during the landing flare, about 1 to 2 feet above the ground, the airplane drifted right. The right main landing gear then contacted a snowbank along the right side of the runway, which caused the airplane to nose over. The airplane subsequently came to rest inverted adjacent to the runway. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The inspector did not observe any preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane, nor did the pilot report any. The recorded wind at a nearby airport, about the time of the accident, was variable at 6 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1319U
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17267008
- Built
- 1976
- Airframe hours
- 7,443
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Morris Aero Club
- Registered owner
- Morris Aero Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 29, 2013 · 76 hours before
- Departed
- MMU · Morristown, NJ
- Destination
- N40 · Pittstown, NJ
- Airport
- N40 · Sky Manor Airport, runway 25, 2,900 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 13, 2012
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 135 total · 69 in this make and model · 81 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,100 ft broken
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- SMQ, 10 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 24, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 MB in all.