- Date
- September 12, 2019, 15:20 local (22:20 UTC)
- Place
- Hemet, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5229FCessna 172F
- Defining event
- Landing: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 17, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- FAA report
- 20190912013089A
- Case key
- 100258
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 flight instructor's improper decision to perform a precautionary landing on unsuitable terrain, which resulted in a noseover.
Findings · 3
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 flight instructor reported that, during landing, he told the student pilot to initiate a go-around. During the climb, the instructor saw dust devils at the end of the runway, so he instructed the student to also initiate a slight left turn. The instructor then noticed power lines past the dust devils, so he took the controls from the student and continued a shallow, 200 ft-per-minute climbing left turn to the south. While turning the airplane, the instructor saw other power lines to the south, so he decided to initiate a precautionary soft-field landing to a plowed field adjacent to the runway. During landing, the nose landing gear touched down, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut and vertical stabilizer. The instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor reported that, during landing, he directed the student pilot to initiate a go-around. During the climb, the instructor saw dust devils at the end of the runway, so he instructed the student to also initiate a slight left turn. The instructor then noticed power lines past the dust devils, so he decided to take the controls from the student and continued a shallow, 200 ft-per-minute climbing left turn to the south. While in the turn, the instructor saw other high-tension power lines to the south, so he decided to initiate a precautionary soft field landing to a plowed field adjacent to the runway. During landing, the nose landing gear touched down and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut and vertical stabilizer. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. An automated weather observation station, about 20 minutes before the accident, about 15 nautical miles north from the accident site, reported the wind was 310° at 6 knots, temperature of 97ºF, altimeter setting of 29.93. The calculated density altitude was about 4,237 ft. According to the Federal Aviation Administration density altitude Koch Chart, the airplane would have likely experienced about a 37% decrease to the normal climb rate, and about a 55% increase to the normal takeoff distance. The pilot reported that the wind was 140º at 6 knots. The airplane departed from runway 23.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5229F
- Reported as
- Cessna 172F (A)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17253280
- Built
- 1965
- Airframe hours
- 10,542
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Public use
- Operator
- United States Air Force Owner
- Registered owner
- United States Air Force Owner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 31, 2019
- Departed
- RIV · Riverside, CA
- Destination
- HMT · Hemet, CA
- Flight plan
- Military VFR
- Airport
- HMT · Hemet-Ryan, runway 23, 4,315 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Stall warning system, Onboard weather
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
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 63
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 6, 2018
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 11,497 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 8,370 as pilot in command · 99 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 42 total · 42 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 97 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KRIV, 15 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 20, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.6 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.