Cessna 172N N733RK

Summary

On 6 May 2001 at about 20:40 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N733RK, operated by Sabris Corporation, was involved in an accident near Wichita, Kansas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 May 2001 at 20:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Wichita, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.6509, -97.4292

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N733RK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Sabris Corporation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wichita → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI01FA130

2 people died.

the student pilot not maintaining clearance from the tower support wire during the practice emergency landing maneuver and the instructor pilot's inadequate supervision of the student pilot. Factors relating to the accident were the static wire and the low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was observed flying low in the vicinity of the Wichita International Raceway, Wichita, Kansas. One witness reported hearing two blasts like a shotgun. The witness said he and his friends drove over to where they thought the sound had come from. They found the airplane lying on the guard rail of the racetrack totally on fire. Another witness working in his yard just north of the racetrack said he heard the sound of a small airplane, stopped what he was doing and searched to gain sight of the airplane. He said that he had a clear view of the airplane. It was traveling north-northwest at an altitude of 150 to 200 feet and descending slightly. The witness said the engine speed was very high, but sounded normal, and the flaps were up. The witness watched the airplane until he lost sight of it behind some trees. "About the time I lost visual contact … I heard the metallic sound and noticed that all the power wires (east and west) were bouncing." The witness said he ran into the house to call 9-1-1, but the phones were dead and there was no power to the house. An examination of the accident site revealed damage to a tower support cable pole atop a 110-foot tall power line support tower. The north side 3/4-inch diameter support cable was observed draped through trees northeast of the tower and ran north-northeast to the airplane main wreckage. The cable ran through the airplane's empennage and on to the racetrack. One broken end of the cable was on the racetrack south of the airplane. The top 8 inches of the airplane's vertical stabilizer and rudder was located 15 feet east of the racetrack beneath the power lines. A 3/4-inch diameter c-shaped indention ran horizontally along the right side of the piece. An examination of the remainder of the airplane revealed no anomalies. The airplane's owner said that flight instructors were using the racetrack as a practice strip to set up and practice emergency landings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.