# NTSB LAX03LA152: Cessna 172N, N739NS, Payson, AZ, May 17, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 17, 2003, 11:25 local (18:25 UTC) - Place: Payson, AZ - Coordinates: 34.256668, -111.339164 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2567&lon=-111.3392&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor, 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 57014 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX03LA152 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57014/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA152 ## Probable cause the pilot's inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, failure to retract the flaps during an aborted landing attempt, failure to maintain an adequate airspeed, and failure to maintain directional control. A factor in the accident was the high density altitude. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, landing - aborted - weather condition - high density altitude (contributing factor) - recovery from bounced landing - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - raising of flaps - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - airspeed - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - stall/mush - encountered, pilot in command - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with object, landing - aborted - object - tree(s) ## Analysis During an aborted landing attempt following a bounced landing, the airplane drifted off the right side of the runway and collided with trees. The airplane bounced after touchdown, and the pilot attempted to abort the landing; however, he left the flaps down, and maintained the airplane in a nose high attitude. The stall warning horn sounded, and the pilot pushed the yoke forward. The airplane continued drifting to the right of the runway until it impacted trees north of the runway. The pilot was unfamiliar with the airport, and he also had not considered the element of a high-density altitude condition. The balked landing procedures in the Pilot Operating Handbook for the airplane call for the flaps to be immediately retracted to 20 degrees. The density altitude was computed to be 8,098 feet,. ## Factual narrative On May 17, 2003, about 1125 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172N, N739NS, collided with trees during an aborted landing at Payson Airport (PAN) Payson, Arizona. Glendale Aviation LLC was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries; two other passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight departed Glendale Municipal Airport, Glendale, Arizona, about 1040 en route to Payson. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The primary wreckage was at 34 degrees 15 minutes north latitude and 111 degrees 20 minutes west longitude. The pilot reported that he was attempting to land at Payson using runway 24. When he touched down the first time, the airplane bounced back into the air. The pilot remembered applying power and maintaining a nose-high attitude of the airplane to execute an aborted landing, but the airplane would not climb. The pilot did not retract the flaps for the aborted landing. The stall warning horn sounded, and the pilot pushed the yoke forward. The airplane continued drifting to the right of the runway until it impacted trees north of the runway. The pilot stated that he had not landed at Payson before and was unfamiliar with the airport. He also had not considered the element of a high-density altitude condition. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration examined the wreckage at the accident scene. They did not find any discrepancies with the airframe or engine. The flaps and the flap actuator handle were both in the fully extended position. The balked landing procedures Pilot Operating Handbook for the airplane call for the flaps to be immediately retracted to 20 degrees. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N739NS](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N739NS-2013-05-07), registration cancelled 2013-05-07, S/N 17270679, built 1978 (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: 17270679 - Airframe hours: 6270.5 - Engines: Lycoming O-320 160 hp reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Glendale Aviation LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, March 15, 2003, 54.5 hours before - Departed: KGEU, GLENDALE, AZ - Destination: KPAN, PAYSON, AZ - Airport: PAN, Payson, runway 24, 5,500 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review April 22, 2003; seat: left; flight hours: 73 total, 5 in this make and model, 25 as pilot in command, 48 in the last 90 days, 14 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 32 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Observed at: PAN ## 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 20030517011949A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030517011949A), May 17, 2003: Cessna 172N, Payson, AZ, Destroyed. (-23) Pilot flew from glendale, AZ. To Payson. On landing the aircraft bounced repeatedly, it drifted to the right of runway 24 into the dirt on the north side… ## Other investigations on N739NS (1) 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. - [NTSB LAX02LA084](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA084), Feb 13, 2002: Cessna 172N (N739NS), Glendale, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot of the landing airplane failed to maintain directional control resulting in the on-ground collission. 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.