- Date
- February 15, 2004, 16:50 local (21:50 UTC)
- Place
- Batavia, NY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N369WPCessna 172E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20040215002019A
- Case key
- 58742
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 failure to maintain directional control while landing. Factors were a tailwind and icy runway.
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 was landing on runway 10, a 4,403-foot long, 100-foot wide runway. Runway 10 consisted of asphalt, with some patches of ice. The pilot approached the runway fast, and landed about halfway down the runway. The tailwheel airplane began to swerve, and the pilot applied left rudder to prevent a ground loop. However, the airplane traveled off the left side of the runway, struck a snow bank, and came to rest inverted. According to the pilot and weather reports at airports near the accident site, the airplane landed with a left quartering tailwind.
Factual narrative
On February 15, 2004, about 1650 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172E, N369WP, was substantially damaged while landing at Genesee County Airport (GVQ), Batavia, New York. The certificated private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed Buffalo Airport (9G0), Buffalo, New York. No flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot's written statement, he landed on runway 10, a 4,403-foot long, 100-foot wide, asphalt runway. After touchdown, the tailwheel airplane encountered icy patches on the runway. The pilot subsequently lost control of the aircraft, struck a snow bank, and came to rest inverted.
During an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot stated that he approached the runway fast, and landed about halfway down the runway. The airplane began to swerve, and the pilot applied left rudder to prevent a ground loop. However, the airplane traveled off the left side of the runway, struck a snow bank, and came to rest inverted. The FAA inspector reported that there were some patches of ice on the runway.
The pilot stated that the wind at GVQ was from 350 degrees at 7 knots. The reported wind at an airport approximately 25 miles west of the accident site, at 1654, was from 330 degrees at 8 knots. The reported wind at an airport approximately 25 miles east of the accident site, at 1654, was from 320 degrees at 5 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N369WP
- Reported as
- Cessna 172E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17251724
- Engine
- Continental O-300, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- David Blakeley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 9G0 · Buffalo, NY
- Destination
- GVQ · Batavia, NY
- Airport
- GVQ · Genesee County Airport, runway 10, 4,403 × 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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 350 total · 322 in this make and model · 350 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 10 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.