LAX96LA025

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172 · Livermore, CA · October 27, 1995

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
October 27, 1995, 09:19 local (16:19 UTC)
Place
Livermore, CA
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N2967ECessna 172
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report March 21, 1996
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19951027034869A
Case key
29321

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. A contributing factor was the rough/uneven terrain.

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.

Loss of control - on ground/waterLanding - roll
Directional control - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
Inadequate recurrent trainingPilot in command
On ground/water encounter with terrain/waterLanding - roll
Terrain condition - rough/unevenFactor

Analysis

The aircraft veered off the runway and came to rest in a plowed field 200 feet beyond the midfield taxiway/turnoff. Skid marks from both main landing gear started on the runway approximately 100 feet before the midfield turnoff and angled toward it until leaving the runway on approximately a 30-degree angle indicating a high groundspeed. FAA inspectors found that the pilot's biennial flight review, conducted 4 months prior to the accident, was completed in 0.5 flight hours with no logged ground instruction.

Factual narrative

On October 27, 1995, at 0919 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172, N2967E, veered off runway 25R into a plowed field while landing at Livermore Airport, Livermore, California. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the private pilot was uninjured. No flight plan was filed for the business flight and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight departed from Cameron Park, California, at 0830 on the morning of the accident.

Runway 25R at Livermore is 5,255 feet long and 100 feet wide. Inspectors from the FAA's Oakland Flight Standards District Office reported that the aircraft came to rest approximately 2,100 feet west of the runway threshold and 100 feet north of the runway centerline. The stopping point is approximately 200 feet west of the midfield taxiway/turnoff. Skid marks from both main landing gear of the aircraft started on the runway approximately 100 feet east of the turnoff and angled to the right toward it until leaving the runway on approximately a 30-degree angle. The same FAA inspectors found that the pilot's biennial flight review, conducted 4 months prior to the accident, was completed in 0.5 flight hours with no logged ground instruction.

The operator of the aircraft, who ferried it to a repair site after the accident, reported to NTSB investigators that there were no mechanical reasons for the aircraft veering off the runway.

Aircraft

Registration
N2967E
Reported as
Cessna 172
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17271391
Airframe hours
2,934
Engine
Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Business · Part 91
Registered owner
Aviation West
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · September 1, 1995 · 16 hours before
Departed
O61 · Cameron Park, CA
Destination
LVK
Airport
LVK · Livermore Municipal, runway 25R, 5,255 × 100 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
47
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Seat
Left
Flight hours
153 total · 28 in this make and model · 106 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
30 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Altimeter
29.00 inHg
Observed at
LVK

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.