- Date
- March 4, 1991, 11:47 local (16:47 UTC)
- Place
- Everglades City, FL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N84461Cessna 172K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910304003869A
- Case key
- 32828
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
Information given during a weather briefing was disregarded, in-flight encounter with wind gust, and failure of the pilot to execute a go-around. Contributing to the accident was inadequate placement of a windsock which was blocked by trees resulting in an incorrect indication of the direction and velocity of the wind.
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 plt obtained a wx briefing & was advised that the wind at a nearby arpt was gusting to 22 KTS from 300 degrees. He overflew the arpt to observe the windsock which indicated that the wind was light from the north. He then entered the pattern to land on rwy 33 & while on short final, a gust of wind raised the lt wing. He attempted to correct this but the acft descended & crashed on the rwy. According to a sheriff's deputy who witnessed the accident, he estimated that the wind was from the west gusting to 30 KTS. Review of the arpt layout revealed that trees block the windsock.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N84461
- Reported as
- Cessna 172K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17258480
- Airframe hours
- 5,194
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Vera, Pedro J
- Registered owner
- Vera, Pedro J
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 18, 1990 · 61 hours before
- Departed
- HWO · Hollywood, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- X01 · Everglades, runway 33, 2,400 × 50 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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 159 total · 10 in this make and model · 122 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- APF, 28 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.