Plane Crash List

Cessna 172 N250ER

31 March 1992 · Prescott, Arizona, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 31 March 1992 at about 15:16 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N250ER, operated by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UNV, was involved in an accident near Prescott, Arizona, United States. 4 people were 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 15:16
Classification
Accident
Location
Prescott, Arizona, United States
Nearest airport
Ernest A. Love Field (PRC)
Coordinates
34.6199, -112.4208
Aircraft
Cessna 172
Registration
N250ER
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UNV
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Instructional
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
LAX92LA157

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
4 0 0 0 4

Probable cause

THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR'S POOR SUPERVISION OF THE FLIGHT; THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR'S AND DUAL STUDENT'S MISIDENTIFICATION OF THE OTHER AIRPLANE AND THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR'S AND DUAL STUDENT'S POOR VISUAL LOOKOUT. CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ACCIDENT WAS THE SOFT, ROUGH AND UNEVEN TERRAIN.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

BOTH AIRPLANES WERE IN THE TOWER CONTROLLED TRAFFIC PATTERN; ONE AIRPLANE WAS ON A LEFT DOWNWIND WITH A CFI, DUAL STUDENT, AND A STUDENT PILOT/OBSERVER OCCUPYING THE REAR SEAT; THE OTHER AIRPLANE WAS ON A RIGHT DOWNWIND AND WAS BEING FLOWN BY A SOLO STUDENT PILOT. THE LOCAL CONTROLLER CLEARED THE SOLO STUDENT PILOT ON THE RIGHT DOWNWIND TO LAND FOLLOWING AN AIRPLANE TO THE STUDENT PILOT'S LEFT. THE LOCAL CONTROLLER THEN CLEARED THE DUAL STUDENT'S FLIGHT TO FOLLOW THE SOLO STUDENT AIRPLANE'S ON THE RIGHT DOWNWIND. THE DUAL STUDENT'S FLIGHT ACKNOWLEDGED THE CLEARANCE, BUT BOTH PILOTS MISIDENTIFIED THE SOLO STUDENT'S AIRPLANE AND BEGAN FOLLOWING THE AIRPLANE AHEAD OF AND TO THE LEFT OF THE SOLO STUDENT'S AIRPLANE. AFTER THE LOCAL CONTROLLER CLEARED THE SOLO STUDENT TO LAND HE THEN CLEARED THE DUAL STUDENT'S FLIGHT TO FOLLOW THE SOLO STUDENT'S AIRPLANE. THE DUAL STUDENT'S FLIGHT FOLLOWED THE AIRPLANE AHEAD OF THE SOLO STUDENT AND BEGAN TO TURN ONTO THE FINAL APPROACH. SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE SOLO STUDENT'S AIRPLANE DESCENDED ONTO THE DUAL STUDENT'S AIRPLANE. THE SOLO STUDENT LANDED ON THE RUNWAY WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE CFI IN THE DUAL STUDENT'S AIRPLANE EXECUTED A FORCED LANDING IN THE OPEN DESERT TERRAIN, BUT NOSED OVER DURING THE LANDING ROLL.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Aircraft involved

Aircraft Registration Operator Damage
Cessna 172 172 N250ER Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UNV Substantial
Cessna 172N 172N N267ER Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UNV Substantial

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
1 Mar 1992 Helio HST-550A
N550HZ
Salome, Arizona, United States Maytag, David D. JR. Minor injuries -
27 Nov 1992 Cessna 404
N5429J
Tucson, Arizona, United States U. S. Customs Service No injuries -
21 Mar 1992 Boeing 757-222
N519UA
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
no coordinates
United Airlines Serious injuries -
2 Oct 1992 Cessna 170B
N2515D
Prescott, Arizona, United States Darrah, LEE No injuries -
4 Oct 1992 Cessna 150M
N3099G
Three Points, Arizona, United States Genzman, Dennis W. Minor injuries -
27 Mar 1992 Beechcraft F33A
N8000J
Payson, Arizona, United States Steering Committee Corp. Fatal 2

All 170,864 records in United States