ERA24LA192

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172 · Zelienople, PA · April 20, 2024

Accident · No injuriesClass 4 · LimitedFinal report
Date
April 20, 2024, 16:24 local (20:24 UTC)
Place
Zelienople, PA
Injuries
3 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N684SPCessna 172
Defining event
Landing: Abnormal runway contact
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
Investigation class
Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20240420005439A
Case key
194148

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 inadequate compensation for the gusting crosswind condition during landing.

Findings · 4

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.

Performance/control parameters: directional controlAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna 172S: 66 casesAll aircraft: 3,958 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotCessna 172S: 206 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Wind: crosswindEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Response/compensationCessna 172S: 18 casesAll aircraft: 1,008 casesProbable cause
Wind: gustsEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Response/compensationCessna 172S: 21 casesAll aircraft: 1,199 casesProbable cause

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

While inbound to the airport the pilot stated that he listened to the automated terminal information service, which indicated that the wind was from 290° at 11 kts with gusts to 20 kts. The pilot selected runway 35 for the landing, and to compensate for the wind, he added an extra 5 knots to the approach speed. After passing the runway threshold during the final approach, while about 20 feet above the runway surface, the airplane suddenly rolled to the right and the right wingtip contacted the ground. The pilot further described that he thought that the airplane had encountered a significant wind shear. He then leveled the wings and added power to abort the landing, but the airplane impacted the runway several seconds later. The airplane came to rest in the grass to the left of the runway and the airplane’s fuselage and right wing were substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. A surface weather observation taken about 9 minutes before the accident reported wind from 310° at 12 kts, with gusts to 17 kts. The wind conditions reported during the hour preceding and the hour following the accident included similar gusting crosswind conditions, with some directional variability/shearing reported about 40 minutes before and 1 hour after the accident time.

Aircraft

Registration
N684SP
Reported as
Cessna 172 (S)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
172S8095
Built
1999
Airframe hours
6,219
Engine
Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Condor Aero Club Inc
Registered owner
Condor Aero Club Inc
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · April 6, 2024 · 18 hours before
Departed
UNV · State College, PA
Destination
Same as departure
Airport
PJC · Zelienople Municipal Airport, runway 35, 4,933 × 75 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Stall warning system, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B

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
22
Injuries
None
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
August 16, 2022
Seat
Left
Flight hours
206 total · 205 in this make and model · 132 as pilot in command

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
310° at 12 knots, gusting 17
Visibility
10 statute miles
Temperature
50 °F, dew point 28 °F
Altimeter
30.07 inHg
Observed at
KPJC, 0.14 nm away
METAR
KPJC 202015Z AUTO 31012G17KT 10SM SCT055 10/M02 A3007 RMK AO2

Docket · 8

The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 2, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 18.5 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.