- Date
- December 8, 1999, 18:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Wooster, OH
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N7565GCessna 172L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 23, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19991208038269A
- Case key
- 47893
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 inadvertent taxi onto unsuitable terrain. A factor was the burnt out landing/taxi light.
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 airplane's landing/taxi light burned out on final approach. The pilot made an uneventful landing, then back-taxied to the parking ramp, which had no edge lights. The pilot saw a jet parked on the ramp, and wanted to make sure he stayed clear of the it. He misjudged the turn, and the airplane taxied off the pavement, and into a ditch.
Factual narrative
On December 8, 1999, about 1845 Eastern Standard Time, a Cessna 172L, N7565G, was substantially damaged while taxiing at Wayne County Airport (BJJ), Wooster, Ohio. The certificated private pilot, pilot-rated passenger, and one additional passenger were uninjured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed for the flight, from Lonesome Pine Airport, Wise, Virginia, to Wooster. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, the airplane's landing/taxi light burned out on final approach. The pilot made an uneventful landing, then back-taxied to the parking ramp, which had no edge lights. The pilot saw a jet parked on the ramp, and wanted to make sure he stayed clear of the it. "I misjudged the turn," the airplane taxied off the pavement, and into a ditch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7565G
- Reported as
- Cessna 172L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17259265
- Airframe hours
- 4,215
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rock Aviation Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 6, 1999 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- LNP · Wise, VA
- Destination
- BJJ
- Airport
- BJJ · Wayne County Airport, runway 28, 5,193 × 100 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
- 59
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 97 total · 90 in this make and model · 38 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 190° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 41 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CAK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.