- Date
- January 21, 2023, 15:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Skull Valley, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N92570Cessna 172M
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA Scottsdale FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230121001659A
- Case key
- 106922
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 pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane while landing in a crosswind.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he encountered a crosswind from the left during a landing attempt and the airplane drifted right. The right wing impacted tree branches that resulted in a loss of directional control. The airplane then collided with an adjacent bush, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N92570
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17261586
- Built
- 1973
- Airframe hours
- 4,006.47
- Engine
- Lycoming O320E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2023 · 9.99 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 16AZ · Yav'PE MA'Ta Airport, runway 02, 2,900 × 75 ft, gravel
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Stall warning system
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
- 73
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 15, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,137.4 total · 1,070.6 in this make and model · 1,137.4 as pilot in command · 12.2 in the last 90 days · 5.2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Observed at
- KPRC, 15 nm away
- METAR
- SPECI KPRC 012237Z 19006KT 2SM -SN BR OVC008 01/01
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 17, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.4 MB 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.