- Date
- February 26, 2000, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Alpine, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N46469Cessna 172K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000226010129A
- Case key
- 48696
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 aircraft control during landing. A factor was the crosswind condition.
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
Upon returning to the home airport from the round robin cross-country flight, the solo student pilot bounced the airplane during the crosswind landing. Subsequently, the airplane departed runway 01 and rolled into a drainage ditch. The crosswind was from 300 degrees at 8 knots. Other pilots reported variable winds and dust devils in the area. The student pilot was endorsed for the flight, and had accumulated 70.1 total flight hours of which 48 hours were in the accident make and model of aircraft.
Factual narrative
On February 28, 2000, at 1130 central standard time, a Cessna 172K, single-engine airplane, N46469, departed the runway during the landing and struck a ditch near Alpine, Texas. The airplane was owned and operated by a private individual under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 solo instructional flight. The student pilot, sole occupant, received minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight. A VFR flight plan was filed. The round robin flight originated at Alpine, Texas, with an en route stop at Odessa, Texas.
The student pilot and his flight instructor reported to the FAA inspector that during the landing on runway 01 at the Alpine Municipal Airport, the airplane veered to the left, drifted into the grass, and struck a ditch. Winds were gusting from the west northwest. The student pilot had a total flight time of 71 hours of which 48 hours were in the accident make and model of aircraft. The FAA inspector found structural damage to the firewall and the fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N46469
- Reported as
- Cessna 172K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17257290
- Airframe hours
- 9,980
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- George P. Vose
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ODO · Odessa, TX
- Destination
- E38
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- E38 · Alpine-Casparis Municipal, runway 1, 6,003 × 75 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
- 17
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 70 total · 65 in this make and model · 12 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- E38
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.