Cessna 172P N55221

Summary

On 22 September 1997 at about 15:30 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N55221 was involved in an accident near Airville, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 September 1997 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Airville, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

39.8199, -76.3891

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N55221

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Leesburg → Lancaster

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD97FA122

1 person died.

The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall/mush and subsequent collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

This was the first leg of the student pilot's first solo cross-country. The pilot had radioed the control tower that he was 10 miles southwest of the airport, and had requested a vector to the airport. He reported that the 'elevator felt mushy, but that it was no big deal.' There were no further transmissions from the pilot. According to radar data, the airplane's last 28 minutes 11 seconds consisted of numerous turns and significant changes of direction. The airplane impacted in a corn field, about 22 miles south of the airport. According to the pilot's log book, he had over 27 hours of total flight experience, which included 1 hour of solo flight experience. The last entry in his log book was 1 month prior to the accident, when he logged 0.3 hour dual. He also logged 0.6 hour solo flight experience 2 months prior to the accident. Examination of the wreckage did not disclose any anomalies with the airplane or the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.