- Date
- September 19, 1996, 07:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ehrenberg, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5536TCessna 172F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960919032979A
- Case key
- 29569
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 attempt to perform a low altitude evasive maneuver with inadequate airspeed resulting in a stall/mush.
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 intended to land on a farm road, saw pot holes in the road, and decided to initiate a go-around. He estimated that the aircraft climbed to 50 or 60 feet agl between 50 to 55 mph when he started a right turn to avoid an agricultural aircraft about 1/2 mile ahead. The aircraft stalled in the turn and settled into a cotton field. The pilot said that the wind was calm and there were no mechanical problems with the aircraft.
Factual narrative
On September 19, 1996, at 0730 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 172F, N5536T, collided with an agricultural field while the private pilot was attempting a go-around following an aborted landing on a farm road near Ehrenberg, Arizona. The aircraft was substantially damaged; however, the pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight which departed from Casa Grande, Arizona, about 0600, and was destined for Blythe, California.
The pilot told the NTSB investigator that he was considering landing on the farm, which was his ultimate destination, rather than landing at Blythe and renting a car. The farm was in level terrain along the Colorado River and the paved road, oriented east-west, was about 1/4 mile long. As the aircraft approached the road from the west and descended to about 3 feet, the pilot saw pot holes in the road and decided to initiate a go-around. The pilot estimated that the aircraft had climbed to 50 to 60 feet agl at 50 to 55 mph when he started a right turn to avoid an agricultural aircraft about 1/2 mile ahead. The aircraft stalled in the turn and settled into a field of tall cotton. The pilot said that the wind was calm and there were no mechanical problems with the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5536T
- Reported as
- Cessna 172F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17251436
- Airframe hours
- 2,721
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Desert Aero Center
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 14, 1996 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- CGZ · Casa Grande, AZ
- Destination
- BLH · Blythe, 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 104 total · 77 in this make and model · 63 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
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 N5536T · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.