- Date
- May 22, 1989, 20:09 local (May 23, 1989, 00:09 UTC)
- Place
- Okeechobee, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9139HCessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report August 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890522012729A
- Case key
- 32436
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 poor preflight preparation when he failed to recheck weather conditions after he delayed takeoff because of thunderstroms. Also, the pilot's poor inflight decision to land off-airport rather than return to the departure airport.
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
Prior to departure the plt was briefed by fss personnel that thunderstorms existed along the route of flt & advised to wait an hour for movement to the east. The plt did not contact the fss again prior to departure. The flt departed 1 hr 29 minutes later & when north of lake Okeechobee, FL, encountered weather associated with a thunderstorm & with darkness approaching, elected to perform a precautionary landing. During the landing roll, the nose gear collided with a mound of dirt, collapsing it, & both wings collided with trees before the airplane stopped.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9139H
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17265968
- Airframe hours
- 3,157
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- General Aviation Int'L Corp.
- Registered owner
- General Aviation Int'L. Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 25, 1989 · 96 hours before
- Departed
- SFB · Sanford, FL
- Destination
- TMB · Miami, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 27
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 250 total · 50 in this make and model · 150 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 42 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 180° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VRB, 22 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.