- Date
- April 11, 1992, 21:38 local (Apr 12, 1992, 03:38 UTC)
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Injuries
- 5 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N63078Cessna 172P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 17, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920411009609A
- Case key
- 41573
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 airplane control initiated by inadvertent control interference by the passenger pilot while apparently attempting to quell a disturbance of an unknown nature. As a result, the pilot did not, or was unable to, maintain sufficient control of the airplane to prevent a stall/spin. A factor which contributed to the accident was the dark night condition.
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
Immediately after takeoff from rwy 17L the pilot requested an '...immediate landing...' On rwy 35R. Aprx 17 secs later, in response to the tower's query, the right front seat pax (24-HR student plt) verified by radio the flight's intention. The airplane was observed in a 180 deg left turn immediately after crossing the upwind end of the rwy. It stalled and impacted the ground 400 ft short of rwy 35R. The airplane was observed aprx 150-200 ft AGL after clearing the departure end of the 10,000-FT rwy. The front seat pax's wife & 2 infant daughters were in the rear; his seat belt and shoulder harness was found unattached. The front seat pax injuries included large lacerations to posterior aspects of the back and right elbow. The front seat pax weighed 240 lbs; the plt weighed 150 lbs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N63078
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17275389
- Airframe hours
- 3,336
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wings Of Denver Flying Club
- Registered owner
- Bauer, Daniel J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 25, 1992 · 48 hours before
- Airport
- APA · Centennial, runway 17L, 10,001 × 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
- 34
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 409 total · 350 in this make and model · 350 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 100° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- APA, 1 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.