- Date
- October 30, 1993, 07:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Joshua Tree, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8279ECessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 1, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19931030041239A
- Case key
- 28585
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 pilot's failure to maintain a proper descent rate on final approach. A factor in the accident was the student's limited total experience.
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 22 hour student pilot rented the aircraft to practice takeoff and landings. The pilot reported that all aspects of the approach were normal with a stabilized 400 feet per minute descent rate until the aircraft was about 200 feet AGL on short final. The pilot said that the aircraft suddenly encountered a strong sink rate accompanied by a loss of airspeed. The pilot said he immediately applied power and increased the pitch attitude; however, the descent rate could not be arrested prior to the aircraft's main landing gear colliding with a dirt berm about 30 feet short of the runway.
Factual narrative
On October 30, 1993, at 0730 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N8279E, collided with a berm short of runway 24 during a landing undershoot at the Hi Desert Airport, Joshua Tree, California. A witness to the accident stated that the airplane touched down about 30 feet short of the runway threshold and contacted a small berm. The aircraft was owned and operated by the Hi Desert Airport and rented by the student pilot for a local solo instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft incurred substantial damage. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated at the Hi Desert Airport on the day of the mishap at about 0715 hours as a local solo traffic pattern practice flight.
In his written statement, the pilot reported that all aspects of the approach were normal with a stabilized 400 feet per minute descent rate until the aircraft was about 200 feet AGL on short final. The pilot said that the aircraft suddenly encountered a strong sink rate accompanied by a loss of airspeed. The pilot said he immediately applied power and increased the pitch attitude; however, the descent rate could not be arrested prior to the aircraft's main landing gear colliding with a dirt berm about 30 feet short of the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8279E
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17272166
- Airframe hours
- 2,701
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Park W. Richardson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 23, 1993 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- L80
- Airport
- L80 · Hi Desert, runway 24, 2,600 × 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
- 50
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 22 total · 22 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °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.