- Date
- March 20, 1983, 15:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Telma, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N738QACessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830320008859A
- Case key
- 39666
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 aircraft collided with deep unplowed snow on the runway during takeoff and nosed over. The pilot stated that he had landed on frozen snow but when he returned to takeoff the snow was soft. He had a 1200 ft long portion of the runway cleared but it was about 10 ft too short. Just prior to rotation the nose wheel caught the deeper snow at the end of theplowed portion of runway and nosed over. The pilot did not use flaps.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N738QA
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17270144
- Airframe hours
- 2,006
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wings West
- Registered owner
- James B. Koval
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 1983 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- WA32 · Telma, WA
- Destination
- BFI · Seattle, WA
- Airport
- WA32 · Wenatchee State
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
- 28
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 314 total · 150 in this make and model · 233 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EAT, 37 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.