Cessna 172M N472RA
3 February 2005 · Desert Center, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 3 February 2005 at about 21:30 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N472RA was involved in an accident near Desert Center, California, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 21:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Desert Center, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Dry Lake Bed
- Coordinates
- 33.7431, -115.2358
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M
- Registration
- N472RA
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- La Verne → Prescott
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX05LA084
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The instructor's improper decision to land on the dry lakebed without knowing the condition of the landing surface. A factor in the accident was the soft sand surface of the lake bed.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The airplane nosed over during an attempted landing on a dry lake bed. During a cross-country instructional flight, the instructor attempted to demonstrate an off airport, soft field landing on a dry lakebed. The instructor had not previously planned to land on the dry lakebed and had no information as to the condition of the landing surface. The landing surface was softer than the instructor anticipated. During the touchdown, the main landing gear sank into the sand, and the airplane nosed over. The instructor stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 172 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May 2005 | Cessna 172R | Louisburg, North Carolina, United States | First In Flight Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 4 Aug 2005 | Cessna 172M | Hoquiam, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 6 Aug 2005 | Cessna 172RG | Fort Collins, Colorado, United States | Colorado Contrails Aviation, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 30 May 2005 | Cessna 172N | Stockton, California, United States | Luis Rivara | No injuries | - |
| 21 Oct 2005 | Cessna 172 | Gleneden Beach, Oregon, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Apr 2005 | Cessna 172N | Olney, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
All 12,209 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May 2005 | Robinson R44 | Lucerne Valley, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 28 May 2005 | S A Centrair PEGASE 101D | Williams, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Dec 2005 | Socata TBM 700 | Lancaster, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 28 Dec 2005 | Learjet 35A | Truckee, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 8 Sep 2005 | Robinson R22 | Santa Clarita, California, United States | Orbic Helicopters | No injuries | - |
| 10 Sep 2005 | Piper PA-28R-201T | Dunsmuir, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |