Cessna 172RG N5234U

Summary

On 4 October 1987 at about 18:40 local time, a Cessna 172RG registered N5234U was involved in an accident near Calistoga, California, United States. 4 people were on board and one died, 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

4 October 1987 at 18:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Calistoga, California, United States

Nearest airport

Calistoga Airpark (058)

Coordinates

38.6191, -122.6103

Aircraft

Cessna 172RG

Registration

N5234U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Davis → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX88FA001

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

UPON ARRIVING OVER THE DESTINATION ARPT THE PLT USED AN INCORRECT CTAF FREQUENCY TO CONTACT THE ARPT AND HE USED A RIGHT HAND TRAFFIC PATTERN APPROACHING THE 2600 FOOT-LONG RWY. BECAUSE A RESIDENTIAL AREA LAY WEST OF THE ARPT & OPEN FIELDS LAY TO THE EAST, ALL LANDINGS ARE TO BE PERFORMED FROM OVER THE FIELDS--EVEN WHEN TAILWINDS ARE PRESENT. ON THIS OCCASION A 5 TO 15 KT TAILWIND EXISTED. THE PLT TOUCHED DOWN LONG & DELAYED IN GOING AROUND. THE PLT REMOVED FLAPS BEFORE ADDING ENGINE PWR & THE ACFT BARELY BECAME AIRBORNE BY THE END OF THE RWY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS NEAR MAX GROSS WEIGHT. THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO CLIMB WITH AN EXCESSIVELY HIGH NOSE PITCH ATTITUDE. THE ACFT TRAVELLED FOR 1350 FT, STALLED, ENTERED AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT, AND CRASHED INTO THE BACKYARD OF A RESIDENCE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.