Cessna 172P N54477

Summary

On 10 May 2004 at about 18:20 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N54477 was involved in an accident near Battle Ground, Washington, United States. 2 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.

Date

10 May 2004 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Battle Ground, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Goheen Airfield (W52)

Coordinates

45.8278, -122.5761

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N54477

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hillsboro → Battleground

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA04LA081

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's misjudgment of distance and his failure to do a go-around. Also causal was the instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight. Factors include gusty crosswinds, the dual student's failure to adequately compensate for those winds, a wet runway surface, and a ditch off the departure end of the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The dual student, who holds a private pilot certificate for helicopters, was working towards a fixed-wing add-on to his certificate. As per the lesson profile, the student planned a dual cross country flight, but while en route, the instructor told the student to divert to another field. After arrival at the field, they over-flew the runway and determined that there was a direct crosswind at what they estimated was about 10 knots. The student then entered a left pattern for a full-stop landing on the damp turf runway. During his first two approaches, the student allowed the aircraft to get too high on final, and in both instances a go-around was initiated. On the third approach the aircraft remained on the proper final approach path until it was approximately 50 feet above the ground. At that point the aircraft encountered a wind gust, and it ballooned upward to an extent that the pilot was not able to descend to a position where he felt comfortable initiating the landing flare until the aircraft was almost halfway down the 2,600 foot runway. Then the aircraft "floated for awhile in ground effect" before touching down approximately two-thirds of the way down the runway. During this sequence of events, the student did not attempt to initiate a go-around on his own, and the instructor did not direct him to do one. After the aircraft touched down, the student applied the wheel brakes while holding the yoke full back for aerodynamic braking. Then the instructor came on the controls and assisted with the braking effort. Ultimately the pilots were unable to get the aircraft stopped before it went off the end of the runway, down a steep embankment, and into a ditch. Upon impacting the ditch, the nose wheel folded back and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The investigation did not find any evidence of problems with the aircraft's flight control or wheel braking systems.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.