Cessna 172 N8054X

Summary

On 31 May 2001 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N8054X was involved in an accident near Wasilla, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 May 2001 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Wasilla, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Anderson Lake Strip (0AK1)

Coordinates

61.6169, -149.3147

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N8054X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chugiak → Wasilla

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC01LA061

Nobody was injured.

An undershoot due to the pilot's failure to maintain a proper glide path during a VFR final approach to landing. A factor in the accident was a downdraft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private certificated pilot was planning a full-stop landing at a private airstrip. The gravel runway is 2,200 feet long and 40 feet wide. The final approach path to the runway threshold is over a small pond. The pilot said her first landing approach was too steep, and she did a go-around. On the second approach, about 50 to 100 feet lower than the normal approach path, the airplane encountered a downdraft over the pond, and the pilot added engine power. The airplane continued to descend and touched down on the main landing gear, about 300 feet short of the runway threshold. The nose wheel collapsed when it contacted the ground. The pilot said the cockpit immediately filled with smoke, and she exited the airplane via the right door. The airplane fuselage was consumed by fire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.