- Date
- June 6, 1987, 22:50 local (Jun 7, 1987, 05:50 UTC)
- Place
- Fresno, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N76546Cessna 120
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870606081939A
- Case key
- 25605
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
A Cessna 120 landed left of the runway on a rough dirt area and nosed over. The pilot indicated that the airport is not lighted. The runway is equipped with white reflectors and the taxiways are equipped with amber reflectors. The pilot stated he was unable to distinguish the difference in the colored reflectors while in flight. The pilot aligned the aircraft with amber parallel taxiway reflectors on the left and white runway reflectors on the right. The aircraft touched down on a perpendicular taxiway just past amber reflectors which appeared to be runway end markings. The aircraft rolled out across the perpendicular taxiway and nosed over in the rough dirt area between the runway and the parallel taxiway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N76546
- Reported as
- Cessna 120
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 10982
- Airframe hours
- 5,278
- Engine
- Continental C-85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Phillip F. Stotts
- Registered owner
- Stotts, Phillip F
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 5, 1986 · 93 hours before
- Departed
- MCE · Merced, CA
- Destination
- Q60 · Fresno, CA
- Airport
- Q60 · Sierra Sky Park, runway 30, 2,920 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 860 total · 860 in this make and model · 820 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAT, 10 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.