- Date
- August 28, 2004, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Leakey, TX
- Injuries
- 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2477ECessna 172S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20040828025809A
- Case key
- 60009
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 clearance with terrain. A contributing factor was the high density altitude.
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
The 270-hour pilot reported that he was flying approximately 500 feet above the ground, before departing the area over mountainous terrain. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the side of a mountain. The pilot stated that it "felt like something was pulling me [the airplane] down as the airspeed was dropping fast." The pilot added that he increased power and lowered the nose to increase airspeed, but the airplane continued to sink. The NTSB investigator-in-charge calculated the density altitude to be 4,532 feet.
Factual narrative
On August 24, 2004, approximately 1130 central daylight time, a Cessna 172S single-engine airplane, N2477E, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain during cruise flight near Leakey, Texas. The private pilot and two passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by Uvalde Flight Training Center Inc., of Uvalde, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from the Garner Field Airport (UVA), near Uvalde, Texas, at 1050.
The 270-hour pilot reported in a written statement that he was flying over a house owned by one of the passengers at approximately 500 feet above ground level (agl), before departing the area over a mountainous area. The pilot stated that it "felt like something was pulling me [the airplane] down as the airspeed was dropping fast." He added power and lowered the nose to increase airspeed, but the airplane continued to sink. Subsequently, the airplane impacted terrain on the side of a mountain, approximately 100 feet below the peak.
Examination of the airplane by an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the site of the accident, revealed the right wing spar and the engine firewall were bent. The airplane came to rest upright among trees at a field elevation of 2,231 feet.
At 1100, the automated weather observing system at UVA, located approximately 32 miles south of the accident site reported wind from 170 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, sky condition clear, temperature 88 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 30.01 inches of Mercury.
The NTSB investigator-in-charge calculated the density altitude to be 4,532 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2477E
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S8800
- Airframe hours
- 1,810.5
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Uvalde Flight Training Center Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 3, 2004 · 45.9 hours before
- Departed
- UVA · Uvalde, TX
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
- 56
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 270 total · 100 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- UVA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.