- Date
- April 12, 1993, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Immokalee, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6542JCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 19, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930412019749A
- Case key
- 33274
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 decision of the pilot to buzz and his failure to maintain adequate visual lookout.
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 stated that he became bored while flying and elected to descend to fly close to the ground. He descended to approximately 100 feet above the ground and had been at that altitude for approximately 30 seconds when he felt an impact. He diverted to a nearby airport and landed uneventfully where he discovered that the top portion of the vertical stabilizer was missing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6542J
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17273887
- Airframe hours
- 4,003
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- American Flyers, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Ate Of Texas, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · March 23, 1993 · 51 hours before
- Departed
- FXE · Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Flight plan
- Unknown
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
- 19
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 100 total · 100 in this make and model · 38 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RSW, 20 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.
Other investigations on N6542J · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.