- Date
- November 21, 2004, 15:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- Martinsburg, WV
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5294WCessna 172R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Baltomore FSDO
- FAA report
- 20041121034989A
- Case key
- 60635
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
A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
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 was on approach to a 7,000-foot-long, 150-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot reported that the airplane was configured with full flaps, a power setting of 1,200 rpm, and was at an airspeed "just below 70 knots," when he realized that the propeller was wind-milling. He advanced the throttle; however, the engine did not respond. The airplane was about 15 feet above, and 300 to 400 feet down the runway, when the pilot began a landing flare. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear, bounced, and then touched down on the main and nose landing gear. The nose gear collapsed, and the airplane slid off the right side of the runway, onto a grass area. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions. In addition, a subsequent teardown, and test run of the engine did not reveal any discrepancies.
Factual narrative
On November 21, 2004, about 1510 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172R, N5294W, was substantially damaged while landing at the Eastern WV Regional Airport, Martinsburg, West Virginia. The certificated private pilot and a passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight that departed the Leesburg Executive Airport, Leesburg, Virginia. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The airplane was on approach to runway 26, a 7,000-foot-long, 150-foot-wide, asphalt runway.
According to the pilot, the airplane was configured with full flaps, a power setting of 1,200 rpm, and was at an airspeed "just below 70 knots," when he realized that the propeller was wind-milling. He advanced the throttle; however, the engine did not respond. The airplane was about 15 feet above, and 300 to 400 feet down the runway, when the pilot began a landing flare. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear, bounced, and then touched down on the main and nose landing gear. The nose gear collapsed, and the airplane slid off the right side of the runway, onto a grass area.
The nose gear was pushed through the engine firewall, and the propeller contacted the ground.
Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions. In addition, a subsequent teardown, and test run of the engine did not reveal any discrepancies.
The airplane had been operated for about 7 hours since it's most recent annual inspection, which was performed on November 10, 2004.
The pilot obtained his private pilot license on October 8, 2004. He reported 105 hours of total flight experience, which included about 92 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5294W
- Reported as
- Cessna 172R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17281186
- Airframe hours
- 601
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Av-Ed Flight School, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 1, 2004 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- JYO · Leesburg, VA
- Destination
- MRB · Martinsburg, WV
- Airport
- MRB · Eastern WV Regional, runway 26, 7,000 × 150 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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 105 total · 92 in this make and model · 24 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
- Observed at
- MRB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.