# NTSB LAX04CA255: Cessna 172N, N734PW, Chemehuevi, CA, July 7, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 7, 2004, 07:00 local (14:00 UTC) - Place: Chemehuevi, CA - Coordinates: 34.517501, -114.418052 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.5175&lon=-114.4181&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report September 29, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 59621 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX04CA255 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59621/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04CA255 ## Probable cause the pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing, inadequate compensation for the wind conditions, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - flare - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - flare/touchdown - weather condition - crosswind - weather condition - tailwind - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - recovery from bounced landing - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - dirt bank/rising embankment - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The student pilot bounced the airplane upon touchdown and lost directional control with a prevailing quartering tailwind. The airplane veered off the side of the runway, rolled into an embankment, and nosed over. Days earlier, the student's certified flight instructor had authorized the student to practice takeoffs and landings at the airport. The accident occurred after the student had flown for about 50 minutes. During his third landing on the 5,000-foot-long by 75-foot-wide runway 34, with 20 degrees of wing flaps extended, the pilot encountered a quartering tailwind. The airplane initially touched down on its left main landing gear. Thereafter, the airplane bounced, and the right main landing gear contacted the runway. Although the student increased engine power and pulled the control yoke aft, his overall efforts to maintain control were inadequate. From 8 minutes before to 12 minutes after the accident, the wind direction and speed were reported at an airport 5 miles from the site as varying from 150 to 190 degrees, and from 3 and 6 knots. No wind gusts were reported. The student's total solo flying experience was 13 hours. ## Factual narrative On July 7, 2004, about 0700 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N734PW, bounced upon touchdown at the Chemehuevi Valley Airport (49X), Chemehuevi Valley, California. During the subsequent landing rollout, the airplane veered off the side of the runway, rolled into a ditch, and nosed over. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the student pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the solo instructional flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot/owner was operating the flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and it originated from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, about 50 minutes before the accident. During a July 8, 2004, telephone interview with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator, the student pilot stated that days earlier he had flown to 49X with his certified flight instructor (CFI), who thereafter authorized him to return to the airport to practice takeoffs and landings. According to the student pilot, upon flying back to the airport, he performed two takeoffs and landings on runway 34 without mishap. During his third landing, with 20 degrees of wing flaps extended, the airplane initially touched down on its left main landing gear. Thereafter, the right main landing gear contacted the runway. Following this, he encountered a right crosswind that resulted in his losing directional control, and the airplane swerved off the narrow runway. The pilot additionally reported that he increased engine power and pulled the control yoke aft, but the airplane impacted a nearby embankment and nosed over. The student's CFI reported to the Safety Board investigator that she interviewed her student about the accident. The CFI opined that the student had made a bounced landing and had likely inadequately applied corrective recovery techniques. She also indicated that the student had likely encountered some degree of crosswind. The pilot reported that all of his 13.0 hours of solo flying experience were acquired in the accident model of airplane. The manager of the Lake Havasu City Airport (HII) reported that the weather conditions at HII are typically similar to those at 49X. Normally, there are no strong wind gusts during the morning hours. The manager provided archived weather data indicating, in pertinent part, that about 0702, HII's surface wind was from 170 degrees at 6 knots. A few minutes before and after the accident, at 0652 and at 0712, the wind at HII was from 190 degrees at 3 knots, and from 150 degrees at 5 knots, respectively. He reported no gusts. According to the Federal Aviation Administration's "Airport/Facility Directory," 49X's asphalt-surfaced runway 34 is 5,000 feet long by 75 feet wide. The airport's elevation is 631 feet mean sea level (msl). HII is located about 5 miles northeast of 49X at 781 feet msl. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N734PW](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N734PW), registered now, S/N 17269016 (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: 17269016 - Airframe hours: 2887 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-H2AD 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Michael J. McAndrew - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 8, 2004, 24 hours before - Departed: 49X, Chemehuevi, CA - Destination: HII, Lake HavasuCity, AZ - Airport: 49X, Chemehuevi Valley, runway 34, 5,000 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 41; injuries: minor; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 48 total, 48 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days, 8 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 170° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 196 °F, dew point 102 °F - Altimeter: 29.84 inHg - Observed at: HII, 5 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 20040707012409A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040707012409A), Jul 7, 2004: Cessna 172N, Chemehuevi Vall, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) On July 7, 2004, the pilot in command of N734PW took off from the lake havasu city airport (hii) enroute to the Chemehuevi Valley Airport (49X) to… 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.