Cessna 172C N8287X

Summary

On 14 March 2004 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 172C registered N8287X was involved in an accident near Thermal, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 March 2004 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Thermal, California, United States

Nearest airport

McKeever Private (NONE)

Coordinates

33.6281, -116.1603

Aircraft

Cessna 172C

Registration

N8287X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Desert Center → Thermal

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04CA157

1 person had minor injuries.

the pilot's failure to retract the flaps during the go-around and his failure to obtain and maintain sufficient airspeed, which led to a stall mush condition. High density altitude was a contributing factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane settled into brush and hit terrain during a go-around. The pilot had successfully completed landings to his private dirt strip prior to the accident. On final approach with 20 degrees of flaps, he noted that the airplane was higher than normal. About 700 feet down the runway, the wheels touched down on the soft dirt. He aborted the landing instead of applying heavy brake pressure. Without retracting the flaps, he climbed to about 100 feet and made a turn to the left. The airplane began to lose altitude and he continued his turn to the left. After completing a 180-degree turn, he leveled out the airplane and lowered the nose, in an effort to regain airspeed. The sink rate continued, and the main landing gear encountered high brush. He thought that the high density altitude was the reason the airplane could not produce enough power to climb. He reported the temperature to be about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.