Cessna 172N N390BV

Summary

On 3 January 2004 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N390BV, operated by Terry Lytle, was involved in an accident near Hayfork, California, 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 January 2004 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hayfork, California, United States

Nearest airport

Hayfork (Q72)

Coordinates

40.5472, -123.1817

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N390BV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Terry Lytle

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hyampom → Hayfork

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04CA085

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's inadequate in-flight decision to attempt a landing on a snow covered runway without ascertaining the depth of the snow cover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane nosed over during the landing roll, after encountering snow. The pilot attempted a short-field landing to a snow covered runway. During the landing roll, snow accumulated in front of the nose wheel. The airplane nosed over, and the propeller struck the ground, followed by the left and right wings. The pilot stated that the airplane had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight. The pilot reported that he saw tire tracks on the approach end of the runway prior to landing. After landing, he realized that they were from a vehicle, not an airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.