- Date
- January 7, 1989, 11:55 local (19:55 UTC)
- Place
- Alturas, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3857QCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890107000289A
- Case key
- 26320
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The failure of the instructor pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane on the snow-covered runway, resulting in a nose-over when the airplane continued off the runway into deeper snow.
Analysis
The pilot reported that while doing touch and go landings, on a runway lightly covered with snow, he lost control of the airplane. The airplane drifted off the runway to the left into about one foot of snow and nosed over. There were no reported mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3857Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17259957
- Airframe hours
- 2,914
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Clough, Richard
- Registered owner
- Richard D Clough
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 8, 1988 · 65 hours before
- Airport
- UTC · Alturas, runway 31, 4,300 × 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
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 935 total · 836 in this make and model · 839 as pilot in command · 113 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.