Aviation Crash Map

Cessna 140 N77166

29 March 1997 · Big Lake, Minnesota, United States · Fatal

Summary

On 29 March 1997 at about 18:30 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N77166 was involved in an accident near Big Lake, Minnesota, 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.

The record

Date
at 18:30
Classification
Accident
Location
Big Lake, Minnesota, United States
Coordinates
45.3296, -93.7394
Aircraft
Cessna 140
Registration
N77166
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Monticello → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Destroyed
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
CHI97FA095

People

1 person died.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 1 0 0 0

Probable cause

The pilot's maneuvers which exceeded the design stress limits of the airplane and resulted in structural overload of the horizontal tail followed by a structural overload of the wings.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses reported that the airplane was maneuvering when there was a loud bang. They reported that the airplane's right wing had failed, and the fuselage was distorted before the aircraft crashed. Aircraft examination revealed that the airplane's horizontal tail had failed due to a positive G maneuver, and the wings and wing struts had failed due to a negative G maneuver. Eight days previous to the accident the pilot had flown a Waco airplane in Hawaii doing aerobatics.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Cessna 140 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
30 Apr 1997 Cessna 140
N2031N
Palo Alto, California, United States - Minor injuries -
13 Jan 1997 Cessna 140
N2400N
Gustavus, Alaska, United States Christopher E. Smith No injuries -
4 Jan 1997 Cessna 140A
N3799V
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States - No injuries -
25 Jun 1997 Cessna 140
N4293N
Columbia, California, United States - No injuries -
6 Aug 1997 Cessna 140
N76102
Pacoima, California, United States - No injuries -
12 Jul 1997 Cessna 140
N4275N
Arlington, Washington, United States - No injuries -

All 1,576 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
29 Jun 1997 Cessna A188B
N4485Q
McGregor, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -
7 Jul 1997 Grumman-Schweizer G-164B
N6633K
Donnelly, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -
13 Jul 1997 Cessna A188B
N9746G
Aitkin, Minnesota, United States - Minor injuries -
18 Jul 1997 Weatherly 201C
N9054W
Stephen, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -
23 Jul 1997 Goble RV-4
N36JG
Rosemount, Minnesota, United States - Fatal 1
8 Aug 1997 Piper PA-28-121
N2228Z
Glencoe, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States