- Date
- March 3, 2002, 11:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Longmont, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5413JCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA - Denver FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020303003919A
- Case key
- 54291
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. Factors included the student pilot's lack of experience, an icy runway, and a mound of snow adjacent to the runway.
Analysis
The student pilot, who was flying solo at the time of the accident, reported that the landing runway was icy at the time of the landing. He reported that he attempted a soft field landing at 60 knots. He stated that he slowed to 30 knots, at which point the aircraft hit a patch of ice. He reported that the airplane skidded to the left, the nosewheel hit a large mound of snow, and the airplane flipped onto its back. The student pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved in the accident.
Factual narrative
On March 3, 2002, at 1100 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172N, N5413J, sustained substantial damage when it went off the side of runway 29 and flipped over during landing at Vance Brand Airport (2V2) in Longmont, Colorado. The student pilot, the solo occupant, was not injured. The aircraft was registered to a private owner and was being operated by Flatirons Aviation of Boulder, Colorado, on a visual flight rules (VFR) instructional flight under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight. The flight departed Boulder Municipal Airport (1V5), Boulder, Colorado, about 1040.
The student reported that the runway was icy at the time of the landing. He reported that he attempted a soft field landing at 60 knots. He stated that he slowed to 30 knots, at which point the aircraft hit a patch of ice. He reported that the airplane skidded to the left, the nosewheel hit a large mound of snow, and the airplane flipped onto its back. The student pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved in the accident. The student pilot reported in his narrative of the accident that he had a 10-knot tailwind, but reported in the weather data blocks on his NTSB pilot accident report that winds were from 290 degrees at 10 knots (he also filled in 10 knots in the "Gusts" weather data block.) The student reported a temperature of 40 degrees F at the time of the accident on his NTSB accident report. At 1045, Jeffco Airport in Broomfield, Colorado, reported a temperature of -4 degrees C (25 degrees F) and variable winds at 3 knots.
According to the U.S. Government Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD), Vance Brand Airport runway 29 is a 4,800-foot by 75-foot concrete 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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5413J
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17273784
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Flatirons Aviation
- Registered owner
- Carl E. Lawrence
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Departed
- 1V5 · Boulder, CO
- Destination
- 2V2 · Longmont, CO
- Airport
- 2V2 · Vance Brand, runway 29, 4,800 × 75 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 38 total · 34 in this make and model · 10 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 15, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 370 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.