Cessna 172M N4470R

Summary

On 3 December 2002 at about 19:45 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N4470R, operated by Charles H. Smith, was involved in an accident near Vici, Oklahoma, 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

3 December 2002 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Vici, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

36.1417, -99.3031

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N4470R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Charles H. Smith

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Liberal → Oklahoma City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03LA056

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's departure and continued flight into adverse weather conditions. Contributing factors were the icing conditions, and the lack of suitable terrain for the precautionary landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument rated private pilot reported that the flight departed with the weather conditions "light to moderate snow and 5-7 miles visibility." Subsequently, en route the ice accumulated throughout the airframe and he performed an unscheduled landing to remove the ice. After partially removing the ice and checking the weather on the computer, he departed the airport and continued the flight toward the planned destination. Subsequently, in cruise flight, he noted an indicated airspeed of 115 mph, and the flight encountered freezing rain and structural icing, and the indicated airspeed decayed to 80 mph. He decreased the pitch of the airplane to maintain the airspeed at 80 mph and diverted the flight to the nearest airport; however, the airplane was unable to maintain 80 mph, and he elected to perform a precautionary landing to an open field short of the airport. During the landing roll in rough and uneven terrain, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane nosed-over coming to rest in the inverted position. The nearest weather reporting station, located 30.4 nautical miles east southeast (103 degrees) of the accident site was reporting calm winds, visibility 4 statute miles with freezing rain and haze, few clouds at 1,000 feet, a broken ceiling at 1,500 feet, and overcast at 2,800 feet. The temperature was 28 degrees Fahrenheit, and the dew point was 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.