Plane Crash List

Cessna 172 N54959

12 December 1992 · La Porte City, Iowa, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 12 December 1992 at about 21:30 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N54959, operated by Nichols Aviation, Inc., was involved in an accident near La Porte City, Iowa, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 21:30
Classification
Accident
Location
La Porte City, Iowa, United States
Nearest airport
Nichols (6C8)
Coordinates
42.3097, -92.1903
Aircraft
Cessna 172
Registration
N54959
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Nichols Aviation, Inc.
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Instructional
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
CHI93LA051

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO PROPERLY ALIGN THE AIRPLANE WITH THE RUNWAY.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A LANDING WAS BEING ATTEMPTED ON A SNOW COVERED SOD AIRSTRIP WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE STUDENT PILOT STATED THAT AFTER TAKEOFF HE CIRCLED THE AIRSTRIP TO VISUALLY IDENTIFY THE LANDING AREA FROM THE AIR. FOLLOWING AERIAL MANEUVER PRACTICE THE PILOT RETURNED TO THE AIRSTRIP TO LAND. INSTEAD OF ALIGNING WITH THE AIRSTRIP, HE LINED UP FOR THE LANDING OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY BETWEEN THE RUNWAY LIGHTS AND A FENCE. THE AIRPLANE CONTACTED 8-10' DEEP SNOW ON TOUCHDOWN.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Cessna 172 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
11 Nov 1992 Cessna 172M
N13400
Olympia, Washington, United States Center O Flying Club No injuries -
17 Nov 1992 Cessna 172M
N4324R
Vancouver, Washington, United States Tabooma Flyers Inc. Minor injuries -
14 Jan 1992 Cessna 172N
N4885G
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
no coordinates
Thomas Kuehn No injuries -
21 Feb 1992 Cessna 172N
N738YY
Orlando, Florida, United States Flight Express, Inc. No injuries -
4 May 1992 Cessna 172N
N5096E
Parkdale, Oregon, United States Vancouver Aviation No injuries -
18 Jul 1992 Cessna 172N
N4500E
Lake Michigan, Michigan, United States
no coordinates
Battle Creek Air Service, Inc. Fatal 4

All 12,209 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
4 Oct 1992 Cessna 182C
N8773T
Marion, Iowa, United States Paradise Skydivers, Inc. Minor injuries -
25 Oct 1992 Champion 7ECA
N9507S
Carroll, Iowa, United States Carroll Flying Service No injuries -
27 Oct 1992 Cessna 172N
N75823
Ankeny, Iowa, United States Todd Flying Service, Inc. No injuries -
27 Oct 1992 Cessna 140
N4213N
Waverly, Iowa, United States Bixby, David G. No injuries -
5 Nov 1992 Piper PA-28-140
N16231
Ames, Iowa, United States North Star Aviation, Inc. Serious injuries -
14 Dec 1992 Cessna 402B
N17CH
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States Dwyer Aircraft Sales, Inc. Minor injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States