# NTSB SEA97LA134: Cessna 172C, N1319Y, Fall City, WA, June 11, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 10, 1997, 21:00 local (Jun 11, 1997, 04:00 UTC) - Place: Fall City, WA - Coordinates: 47.579814, -121.879447 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.5798&lon=-121.8794&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 29, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 42625 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA97LA134 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/42625/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA134 ## Probable cause the pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing. The soft, wet terrain was a related factor. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Nose over, landing - roll - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - wet (contributing factor) - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - soft (contributing factor) ## Analysis Even though the pilot had 1,600 feet of paved runway available, he elected to land on the turf extension/overrun area. Because there had been extensive rains in the area during the week before the accident, the turf portion of the runway was wet and soft. According to the pilot, the aircraft touched down on the left side of the runway in a tire rut which contained standing water. The aircraft was then pulled further to the left, whereupon the nose gear dug into the soft ground and the aircraft nosed over. ## Factual narrative On June 10, 1997, approximately 2100 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172C, N1319Y, nosed over during the landing roll at Fall City Airport, Fall City, Washington. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The local 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which had been in the air for about one hour, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and the ELT, which was activated by the force of the accident, was turned off at the scene. According to the pilot, he elected to land on the flat grass "overrun" area at the approach end of the 1,600 foot paved airstrip. He said that he had done so many times before with no problems, but that this time the left main wheel of the aircraft touched down in a rut created by the tractor that mowed the grass in that area. Because there had been a considerable amount of rain during the week preceding the accident, the rut had collected water and contained deep mud at the time of the landing. As the left main gear passed through the soft mud, the aircraft was pulled further to the left into an area of water-soaked terrain. Upon entering the soft terrain, the nose gear of the aircraft sank into the mud and the aircraft flipped over. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1319Y](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1319Y), registered now, S/N 17249019, built 1961 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172C - Registry model: [Cessna 172C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172c) (registry code 2072408) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17249019 - Airframe hours: 2990 - Engines: Continental O-300-D 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Haag, Walter G. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 1, 1996, 35 hours before - Departed: 1WA6 - Airport: 1WA6, Fall City, runway 9, 1,865 × 30 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, expired; seat: left; flight hours: 841 total, 75 in this make and model, 841 as pilot in command, 28 in the last 90 days, 15 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 235° at 10 knots - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19970611013729A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970611013729A), Jun 11, 1997: Cessna 172C, Fall City, WA, Substantial damage. Aircraft landed short of the runway, caught nose gear and flipped over. (.4) on June 10, 1997, approximately 2100 pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172C, N1319Y,… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.