Cessna 172P N53066

Summary

On 9 April 2002 at about 12:10 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N53066 was involved in an accident near Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 April 2002 at 12:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States

Nearest airport

Council Bluffs Municipal (CBF)

Coordinates

41.2658, -95.7664

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N53066

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Council Bluffs → Council Bluffs

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI02LA102

1 person had minor injuries.

The student pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane and the subsequent inadvertent stall. A factor associated with the accident was the student's lack of total experience.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with the terrain following a loss of control while landing. The student pilot reported that this was his first landing of the day. He reported that while on final approach, at an altitude of 10 to 20 feet above the ground, at an airspeed of 60 to 65 knots, he heard a loud noise. He stated that the noise sounded as if it was coming from the right side of the airplane behind the passenger seat. The student reported, "Shortly after the noise the airplane started to bank hard to the left, like in a large crosswind. The bank became uncontrollable, even with the yoke turned fully to the right." The pilot reported he increased the throttle slightly, and applied right aileron, but the airplane would not recover. He reported the airplane stayed in the left bank until it contacted the grass next to the taxiway. The pilot stated that he thought the stall warning horn sounded just prior to the airplane impacting the terrain. Postaccident inspection of the airplane failed to reveal any failure/malfunction of the airplane and its flight control systems which would have resulted in the reported loss of control . The student pilot reported having 42 hours of total flight time, 1.6 hours of which were solo flight time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.