Cessna 172R N986AV

Summary

On 2 April 2004 at about 14:09 local time, a Cessna 172R registered N986AV was involved in an accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan, 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

2 April 2004 at 14:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Kalamazoo/Battle Creek Interna (AZO)

Coordinates

42.2347, -85.5519

Aircraft

Cessna 172R

Registration

N986AV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kalamazoo → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI04LA097

Nobody was injured.

The air traffic control procedures/directives not followed by tower air traffic controller, the inadequate compensation for wind conditions by the student pilot during landing, the lack of total experience by the student pilot, and the recommended crosswind flap setting not followed by the student pilot. The crosswind conditions were a contributing factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane, operated by a university aviation training program as a student solo instructional flight, veered off runway 05 during landing. The flight was the student pilot's second solo flight at which time he had accumulated a total flight time of 28 hours. The university placed a maximum crosswind limitation of 5 knots for the student pilot's solo flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed with winds from 340 degrees at 13 knots at the time of the accident. The student pilot performed eight takeoff and landings on runway 35 when the tower air traffic controller instructed the student pilot to change to runway 05. The student pilot complied with the instruction and landed on runway 05 using a 30-degree flap setting. The airplane information manual states that in strong crosswinds a minimum flap setting required for field length should be used. Federal Aviation Order states that air traffic control (ATC) is to use the runway most nearly aligned with the wind when the wind is 5 knots or more. There was no runway in use program in effect for the accident runway. The order notes that if a pilot prefers to use a runway different from the one specified, the pilot is expected to advise ATC. The student pilot did not advise ATC of his preference of runway use.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.