- Date
- April 6, 1996, 10:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Sedona, AZ
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N62038Cessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 31, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960406006189A
- Case key
- 29408
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 misjudged the flare.
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 said that he encountered a dust devil when he flared the airplane for landing. He applied power, but the left wing and nose dropped and contacted the runway. A ground witness said that the airplane's left wing dropped when the pilot flared the airplane, but he did not report any dust devil activity in the area. He said that the surface winds were less than 5 knots. The AWOS reported the surface winds at 6 knots, gusting to 15 knots.
Factual narrative
On April 6, 1996, at 1015 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 172, N62038, left wing contacted the asphalt surface while landing on runway 03 at Sedona Airport, Sedona, Arizona. The pilot was completing a visual flight rules personal flight. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. Neither the certificated private pilot nor his two passengers were injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, about 0900 hours.
A ground witness reported that he observed the airplane landing on runway 03. When the airplane began to flare, the left wing dropped and it contacted the runway, followed by the nose landing gear. He said that the surface winds were less than 5 knots.
The airport's automated weather observation system (AWOS) showed that the surface winds were from 020 degrees at 6 knots, gusting to 15 knots.
The pilot said in a telephone interview conducted on April 6, 1996, at 1030 hours, that he entered the traffic pattern from over the airport. He said that he received the landing information before he entered the traffic pattern and while on final approach.
When he flared the airplane about 10 feet above the ground, the airplane encountered a dust devil which pushed the airplane to the right. The pilot applied power to execute a go-around, but the left wing dropped and contacted the runway, followed by the nose landing gear. The pilot also said that the airplane did not experience any preimpact malfunctions or failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N62038
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-25201
- Airframe hours
- 3,223
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gottfried Schmidt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 28, 1996 · 44 hours before
- Departed
- DVT · Phoenix, AZ
- Destination
- SEZ
- Airport
- SEZ · Sedona, runway 3, 5,100 × 75 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
- 65
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 433 total · 377 in this make and model · 433 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 6 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SEZ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N62038 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.