Cessna 172N N739JT

Summary

On 29 September 1998 at about 16:15 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N739JT, operated by Akih Air, was involved in an accident near Gallup, New Mexico, 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.

Date

29 September 1998 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Gallup, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Gallup Municipal Airport (GUP)

Coordinates

35.5126, -108.7850

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N739JT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Akih Air

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Flagstaff → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA417

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate landing flare. Factors were his misjudgement of altitude and his excessive airspeed.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, a Nepalese national, was on a cross-country flight to satisfy a portion of the requirements for a U.S. commercial pilot certificate. When he turned onto final approach at the end of the flight, he had to increase his crab angle to compensate for a crosswind he estimated to be greater than 10 knots. He also added power to maintain airspeed. As he got closer to the runway, he noticed his airspeed was 71 knots instead of 65 knots, so he reduced power to idle. The airplane touched down hard and bounced twice. On the third bounce, the nose wheel went 'flat' and broke. A witness said he saw the airplane when it was 200 feet above the runway threshold. It was in a nose down attitude and appeared to be going 'very fast.' He said the airplane touched down, 'bounced repeatedly,' then departed the right side of the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.