Cessna 172A N7262T

Summary

On 17 January 2011 at about 02:00 local time, a Cessna 172A registered N7262T, operated by John A. Little, was involved in an accident near Clarendon, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 January 2011 at 02:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Clarendon, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Smiley Johnson Mun/Bass Field (E34)

Coordinates

34.9044, -100.8511

Aircraft

Cessna 172A

Registration

N7262T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

John A. Little

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Abilene → Clarendon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN11LA153

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to correctly set the altimeter, which resulted in his erroneous perception that the airplane was at a safe altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, it was dark when he arrived at his destination. He saw the airport's rotating beacon but was unable to remotely activate the runway lights. He maneuvered the airplane onto the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, extended the flaps and reduced engine power. He thought the airplane was 900 feet above the ground when the airplane impacted terrain approximately 2-1/2 miles east of the airport. At the accident site, the altimeter read 7,500 feet. The terrain was approximately 2,800 feet. There were no mechanical anomalies found with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.