- Date
- April 17, 1994, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Arlington, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5709RCessna 172F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940417022119A
- Case key
- 28721
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
Failure of the certified flight instructor to properly supervise the student pilot and perform the appropriate remedial action before the airplane descended to an altitude too low for recovery. Factors were the student pilot's handling of the airplane which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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 pilot inadvertently stalled the airplane about fifty feet above the ground while practicing simulated forced landings. The maneuver was supervised by a certified flight instructor(CFI). The simulated forced landing was initiated about 2,000 feet above the ground. The student pilot was performing the maneuver incorrectly by holding the nose up during the glide. The CFI told the student pilot to add power. The student pilot froze on the controls. The CFI allowed the airplane to continue its descent while telling the student pilot a second time to add power. By the time the student pilot added full power the airplane was about fifty feet above the ground. The airplane stalled, descended uncontrolled, landed hard and nosed over in uneven terrain.
Factual narrative
On April 17, 1994, at 1330 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172F, N5709R, collided with terrain near Arlington, California. The airplane was being operated as an instructional flight by Paradise Aviation, Corona, California. The airplane was substantially damaged. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The flight originated in Corona, California, at 1300 hours. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the operator, the flight instructor was simulating forced landings. The maneuver was being initiated about 2,000 feet above the ground. The student pilot was holding the nose up during the power on glide. The flight instructor told the student pilot to add full power.
The student pilot froze on the controls and did not add the power. The flight instructor again told the student pilot to add full power. This time the student pilot added full power but continued to hold the nose up. The airplane stalled about fifty feet above the ground, landed hard, bounced, and nosed over.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5709R
- Reported as
- Cessna 172F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17253366
- Airframe hours
- 2,604
- Engine
- Continental O-300, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Paradise Aviation
- Registered owner
- Yoon, John R.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 3, 1993 · 296 hours before
- Departed
- L66 · Corona, 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
- 22
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 453 total · 217 in this make and model · 374 as pilot in command · 117 in the last 90 days · 78 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 18,000 ft overcast
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RAL, 7 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.