- Date
- April 5, 1989, 17:25 local (Apr 6, 1989, 00:25 UTC)
- Place
- Prescott, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N248ERCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 19, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890406006489A
- Case key
- 26371
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
Improper use of the elevator flight control by the pilot and his failure to maintain a proper rate of climb after lift-off. Contributing factors were: improper use of elevator trim by the pilot, his lack of total experience, and an inadvertent porpoise.
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 student plt was on his 1st unsupervised solo flt & was making touch-&-go landings in the local pattern. After the 2nd landing, he retracted the flaps, applied full power & moved the carburetor heat to off. He rprtd that after becoming airborne, he encountered 'harsh back pressure' & tried to trim, but the trim did not help. Subsequently, the acft nosed down, contacted the runway & began porpoising. The plt 'pulled' the power & stopped the acft, but the prop, nose gear & firewall were damaged drg the occurrence. Drg an investigation, the elevator trim was found in a 'nose down'position & the trim tab was found displaced 1.5 inches from neutral. No mechanical malfunction or failure was reported.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N248ER
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Embry-Riddle Aero. University
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Airport
- E.A. Love Field, runway 3, 7,200 × 150 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
- 19
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 29 total · 29 in this make and model · 13 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 65 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Observed at
- PRC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.