Cessna 172 N5396D

Summary

On 16 September 2017 at about 00:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N5396D was involved in an accident near Lynchburg, Virginia, 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

16 September 2017 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lynchburg, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Falwell (W24)

Coordinates

37.3781, -79.1222

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N5396D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hanover → Lynchburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

GAA17CA540

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's unstabilized approach, which resulted in an aborted go-around, an aerodynamic stall, and a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during landing, the airplane approached with "extra speed" and ballooned in the landing flare. He added that, "instantly my training took over" and he applied power to go-around, but then also remembered he could not go around when landing in this direction, at this airport, due to terrain and obstacles. He further added that he then reduced power to idle and "stalled the airplane to the ground" and impacted the remining runway hard. Subsequently, he taxied the airplane to the ramp without further incident. The ailerons, wings, and firewall sustained substantial damage. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that he had flown into this airport numerous times prior to the accident and knew that, "once you get to the powerlines you are committed to landing." The power lines were located about ¼ nautical miles from the runway threshold. The pilot did not report that there were any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration Chart Supplement for the airport stated in part: "Land Rwy [runway] 28 (west) tkf [takeoff] Rwy [runway] 10 (east)." The pilot reported that the landing was on runway 28.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.