- Date
- October 8, 1988, 22:10 local (Oct 9, 1988, 03:10 UTC)
- Place
- West Memphis, AR
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N734BKCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report October 3, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881008046039A
- Case key
- 34708
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 he was unable to activate the runway lights on the designated frequencies during a night personal flight. He attempted to land without the aid of the runway lights, and touched down on the FAR end of the runway subsequently running off the end of the runway. A NOTAM had been issued declaring the airport unusable during the hours of darkness, due to the airport's installation of new runway lights.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N734BK
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268724
- Airframe hours
- 1,178
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- West Memphis Aviation
- Registered owner
- West Memphis Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 31, 1988 · 54 hours before
- Departed
- MEM · Memphis, TN
- Airport
- AWM · West Memphis, runway 17, 5,000 × 100 ft, concrete
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 89 total · 29 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM, 15 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.