- Date
- March 15, 1989, 18:40 local (Mar 16, 1989, 02:40 UTC)
- Place
- Rio Vista, CA
- Injuries
- 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N51313Cessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report March 29, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890315003869A
- Case key
- 26351
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 improper planning and execution of an emergency (simulated) maneuver by the pilot.
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
The pilot of a C172 flew into a telephone wire, lost control of the airplane and collided with the terrain while executing a simulated forced landing approach to a field about 8 miles west of Rio Vista, CA. The pilot stated that he was showing his passengers simulated forced landing approach to an open field. While in a descent, both of the pilots and the passenger saw a telephone wire in their flight path (at about 75 feet above ground level). The private pilot was unable to avoid the wire. The airplane's main landing gear cleared the wire but, the right side of the horizontal stabilizer caught the wire. The private pilot lost control of the airplane and collided with the terrain. There was no reported mechanical malfunction or failure to the airplane, prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51313
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274296
- Airframe hours
- 2,484
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Buchanon Flying Club
- Registered owner
- Buchanon Flying Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 20, 1988 · 68 hours before
- Departed
- CCR · Concord, CA
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
- 24
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 113 total · 6 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 300° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.