- Date
- June 25, 2003, 13:55 local (18:55 UTC)
- Place
- Bristow, OK
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N20679Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Cessna Aircraft Company, Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20030625018599A
- Case key
- 57307
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 premature retracting of the flaps, and his failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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
While en route to Oklahoma City, the pilot decided to permit a pilot-rated passenger to practice touch-and go landings at Jones Memorial Airport, Oklahoma. The pilot-rated passenger, who was manipulating the controls and occupying the left seat, flared high and the airplane bounced twice. On the second bounce, the airplane veered across the runway. The pilot, who was in the right seat, announced that he was taking over the controls of the airplane to initiate a go-round. During the go-around, the pilot turned the airplane left, applied full power, and lifted the flap lever intending to take out 10 degrees of the 40 degrees that was set for landing. However, the pilot inadvertently took out more than 10 degrees. The airplane drifted left of the runway and descended until the right wing tip struck the ground. The pilot made a correction to the left, but the airplane stalled and pivoted nearly 180 degrees before coming to rest approximately 100 yards east of the runway. The pilot reported the wind to be from 120 degrees at 7-10 knots, and the investigator calculated the density altitude to be 3,278 feet at the time of the accident. Examination of the wreckage indicated from the position of the flap-actuator that the flaps were in the retracted position.
Factual narrative
On June 25, 2003, approximately 1355 central daylight time, a Cessna 172M single-engine airplane, N20679, was substantially damaged when it impacted the ground east of runway 17 following a loss of control while landing at Jones Memorial Airport (3F7), near Bristow, Oklahoma. The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to Landed Gentry Development, Inc., of Burlington, Washington, and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight departed Branson, Missouri, approximately 1200, with a planned destination to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The 1,111-hour pilot occupied the right seat, and the 243-hour pilot-rated passenger occupied the left seat. While en route, the pilot decided to permit the pilot-rated passenger to practice touch-and-go landings on runway 17 (3,400 feet long and 45 feet wide) at the Jones Memorial Airport. According to the pilot, during the first landing, the pilot-rated passenger flared high and the airplane bounced twice. On the second bounce, as the airplane veered across the runway, the pilot announced that he was taking over the controls of the airplane to initiate a go-around. When initiating the go-around procedure, the pilot turned the airplane left, applied full power, and lifted the flap selector lever intending to take out 10 degrees of flaps of the 40 degrees that were set for landing. The airplane drifted left of the runway and descended until the right wing tip struck the ground. The pilot then made a correction to the left, but the airplane stalled and pivoted nearly 180 degrees before coming to rest approximately 100 yards east of the runway.
With a temperature at 34 degrees Celsius, field elevation of 851 feet, and an altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of mercury, the investigator-in-charge calculated the density altitude to be 3,278 feet at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that the wind was from 120 degrees at 7-10 knots.
On the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot stated that it appeared that he inadvertently took out more that 10 degrees, "of course, increasing the stall speed." Upon exiting the airplane, both pilots noticed a fire under the engine, but were able to clear the wreckage before the airplane caught fire.
Examination of the wreckage by the aircraft manufacturer revealed, from the position of the flap-actuator, that the flaps were in the retracted position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20679
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20679
- Airframe hours
- 3,300
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kendall D. Gentry
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 15, 2002 · 110 hours before
- Departed
- PLK · Branson, MO
- Destination
- 3F7 · Bristow, OK
- Airport
- 3F7 · Jones Memorial Airport, runway 17, 3,400 × 45 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- November 6, 2001
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,111 total · 1,051 in this make and model · 1,035 as pilot in command · 68 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- August 29, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 243 total · 144 in this make and model · 206 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- OKM, 28 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.