Cessna 172N N739DG

Summary

On 21 March 2011 at about 19:22 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N739DG, operated by Amehigh LLC, was involved in an accident near Spanish Fork, Utah, 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

21 March 2011 at 19:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Spanish Fork, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Spanish Fork (U77)

Coordinates

40.1444, -111.6656

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N739DG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Amehigh LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spanish Fork → Spanish Fork

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11LA175

1 person was seriously injured.

The student pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusting wind, which resulted in a loss of airplane control during landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to depart with a high gusting wind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that, after he completed his preflight inspection, he delayed his departure because of reported high wind conditions at his planned destination airport located 5 nautical miles (nm) away. The nearest weather reporting facility was located at that airport, and the wind reported about 32 minutes before the accident was southwesterly at 16 knots, gusting to 26 knots. Shortly thereafter, the pilot noted that the wind was down the runway so he decided to depart for local takeoff-and-landing practice. During his first landing, the airplane bounced and the pilot said that he encountered a “microburst or intense wind.” The pilot lost control of the airplane and it departed the left side of the runway. The airplane cartwheeled several times and impacted an airport perimeter fence. About 28 minutes after the accident, the wind at the airport 5 nm away increased to 22 knots, gusting to 40 knots. Two witnesses reported a high, gusting wind at the accident airport and estimated it to be 40 to 50 knots from the southwest at the time of the accident. The pilot was landing to the southeast, and it is likely that the pilot encountered a gusting crosswind. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.