Cessna 172N N733CN
4 April 1997 · Avalon, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 4 April 1997 at about 21:30 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N733CN, operated by Concord Flight International, was involved in an accident near Avalon, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. 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
- Avalon, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Catalina (AVX)
- Coordinates
- 33.3801, -118.4494
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N
- Registration
- N733CN
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Concord Flight International
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Camarillo → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX97LA141
People
2 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's misjudging the airplane's altitude and distance to the runway and an excessive descent rate, which led to an undershoot, and the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed during the approach. Contributing factors were the pilot's delay in initiating corrective action.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The left seated pilot-in-command was flying the airplane while the right seated passenger, also a pilot, assisted in navigating. The pilot entered the right hand traffic pattern. To the pilot the airplane appeared slightly high turning onto the final approach leg, so full flaps were extended. The airplane descended below the level of the mountain top airport, and the pilot applied full engine power but did not retract the wing flaps. Seconds later the stall warning horn activated, the pilot banked right, and the airplane collided with the side of the cliff within 150 yards of the runway's approach end. A witness, who was awaiting takeoff, observed the approaching airplane. The witness stated that when the airplane was about 1/8 mile from the runway it was flying in a nose high attitude, its speed was slow, its flaps appeared fully extended, and it was very low.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 172 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Jun 1997 | Cessna 172P | Fowlerville, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Jul 1997 | Cessna 172N | Lakeland, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Jul 1997 | Cessna 172M | Athens, Tennessee, United States | Michael B. Guest | No injuries | - |
| 24 Nov 1997 | Cessna 172N | La Jolla, California, United States | Richard Jones | Fatal | 1 |
| 8 Aug 1997 | Cessna 172P | Rockhill, South Carolina, United States | Scott S. Fisher | Minor injuries | - |
| 22 Mar 1997 | Cessna 172 | Middletown, Ohio, United States | Barbara F. Schmidt | No injuries | - |
All 12,209 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 1997 | Airbus A300 B4-203 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Pan American World Airways, In | No injuries | - |
| 15 Aug 1997 | Bell UH-1H | Tahoe City, California, United States | Usda / Forest Service | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Cessna 152 | Julian, California, United States | Plus One Flyers, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Schweizer 2-32 | Warner Springs, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Oct 1997 | Bellanca 7ECA | Tracy, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 26 Oct 1997 | Extra Flugzeugbau EA-300 | Castaic, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |