Cessna 172 N64055

Summary

On 24 October 2008 at about 17:12 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N64055, operated by Western Air Flight Academy, was involved in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 October 2008 at 17:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Broomfield, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan (BJC)

Coordinates

39.9089, -105.1172

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N64055

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Western Air Flight Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Longmont → Broomfield

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09LA035

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane, resulting in an inadvertent stall, during a landing attempt. Contributing to the accident was the gusty crosswinds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After making three touch-and-go landings in "choppy" weather at a nearby airport, the pilot returned to her home airport and was cleared to land on runway 29R. She thought the wind was "well within [her] ability level." On base leg, tower changed the landing runway to 29L. She thought the wind was "acceptable...even with the crosswind component," and she did not request a crosswind runway. She "crabbed" the airplane into the gusty crosswind and the airplane was blown to the left of, and "almost perpendicular to," the runway. As the airplane entered ground effect and was over the grass, the pilot added power "in an attempt to get enough altitude and speed to bring the airplane back over the runway." When the pilot realized this was futile, the pilot added full power in a go-around attempt. The airplane stalled and struck the ground. The pilot stated, "I remember trying to force the nose down and I couldn't get it down quickly enough. I got higher off the ground...I think parallel to the runway, then [the air]plane pulled to the left even with holding right rudder, tipped over left and seemed to bounce off the ground and then hit the ground facing south." The recorded wind at the airport was from 300 degrees at 12 knots. No gusts were reported.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.