# NTSB IAD02LA096: Cessna 172N, N737TG, Bumpass, VA, September 21, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 21, 2002, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC) - Place: Bumpass, VA - Coordinates: 37.965557, -77.745552 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.9656&lon=-77.7456&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 24, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 55748 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD02LA096 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55748/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD02LA096 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing. A factor was the narrow runway width. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - flare/touchdown - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - narrow (contributing factor) - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - tree(s) ## Analysis According to the private pilot, he entered a left-hand traffic pattern in preparation for a landing. As he turned the airplane onto the final approach course, he lowered the flaps to the full-down position, and a wind gust pushed it to the left. The pilot realigned the airplane with the runway for the remainder of the approach. During the landing flare, a wind gust again pushed the airplane off course to the left. The runway was 25 feet wide, and the left main landing gear touched down off the landing surface, and caught a ridge. The ridge descended into a ditch, and despite the pilot's correction with right rudder and brake, the airplane continued to the left. The left wing struck a tree, and the airplane spun around, then descended to the bottom of the ditch. Winds, recorded at an airport 10 nautical miles to the northwest, about 8 minutes before the accident, were from 80 degrees left of the runway, at 6 knots. ## Factual narrative On September 21, 2002, at 1330 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N737TG, was substantially damaged during a landing at Lake Anna Airport (7W4), Bumpass, Virginia. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The flight originated at Tappahannock Municipal Airport (W79), Tappahannock, Virginia, at 1250, and was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot, the airplane was based at Shannon Airport (EZF), Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the purpose of the flight was to practice touch and go landings at some of the area airports, then return to Shannon. The pilot flew to Tappahannock Airport, performed a touch and go landing, then determined that he had time for one more stop. He reviewed his sectional aeronautical chart, and decided to fly to Lake Anna Airport. Upon arrival, the pilot entered a left-hand traffic pattern for landing on runway 26. As he turned the airplane onto the final approach course, he lowered the flaps to the full-down position, and a wind gust pushed the airplane off course to the left. The pilot realigned the airplane with the runway for the remainder of the approach. During the landing flare, a wind gust again pushed him off course to the left. According to the pilot: "As I approached the runway, I was maintaining approximately 65 knots airspeed, I reached the flare, and just below the flare and just before touchdown, a crosswind pushed me well left of the [runway] centerline." The pilot further stated that the runway was "extremely" narrow, and that the left landing gear touched down off the landing surface, and caught on a "ridge". The ridge descended into a ditch, and despite his correction with right rudder and brake, the airplane continued to the left. The left wing struck a tree, the airplane spun around, then descended to the bottom of the ditch. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. He reported 167 hours of flight experience, all of which was in the Cessna 172. He reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The runway at the Lake Anna Airport was 2,560 feet long and 25 feet wide. The pilot reported that he had never been to the airport, and had never landed on a runway that narrow. The weather recorded at 1322, at Louisa County Airport (LKU), Louisa, Virginia, about 10 nautical miles to the northwest, included winds from 180 degrees at 6 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N737TG](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N737TG-2013-09-30), registration cancelled 2013-09-30, S/N 17269658, built 1977 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172N - Registry model: [Cessna 172N](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (registry code 2072434) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17269658 - Airframe hours: 4569.6 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-HZAD 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Quantico Marine Flying Club, doing business as Quantico Marine Flying Club - Registered owner: Dangre Aviation LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Last inspection: 100 hour, September 20, 2002, 1.1 hours before - Departed: W79, TAPPAHANNOCK, VA - Destination: 7W4, Bumpass, VA - Airport: 7W4, Lake Anna, runway 26, 2,560 × 25 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 35; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review November 2, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 167 total, 167 in this make and model, 125 as pilot in command, 10 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 7,500 ft broken - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 29.98 inHg - Observed at: LKU, 6 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020921031259A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020921031259A), Sep 21, 2002: Cessna 172N, Bumpas, VA, Substantial damage. (-23) On September 21, 2002, at about 1330 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N737TG, was substantially damaged while landing at Lake Anna Airport (7W4),… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.