Cessna 172RG N4939V

Summary

On 11 October 2012 at about 16:04 local time, a Cessna 172RG registered N4939V, operated by Flight Training of Mobile LLC, was involved in an accident near Mobile, Alabama, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 October 2012 at 16:04

Classification

Accident

Location

Mobile, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Mobile Downtown Airport (BFM)

Coordinates

30.6375, -88.0736

Aircraft

Cessna 172RG

Registration

N4939V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Flight Training of Mobile LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mobile → Mobile

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13CA028

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to perform the before landing checklist and extend the landing gear before touchdown. Contributing to the accident was the designated pilot examiner’s inadequate remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to complete a commercial single-engine land checkride with a designated pilot examiner. During the straight-in landing approach, the pilot selected full flaps and reduced the engine power to idle in order to descend but did not use the before landing checklist and did not extend the landing gear. When the airplane was over the runway threshold, the pilot verified that the throttle was at idle and began to flare. Neither the pilot nor the designated pilot examiner verified that the landing gear was extended before the landing. The airplane landed on the runway without the landing gear extended, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. Both pilots reported that they did not hear the landing gear warning horn before landing. According to a mechanic, when the battery switch was turned on during the recovery of the airplane, the landing gear warning horn sounded normally. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In addition, the pilot noted that the accident could have been prevented if he had completed the before landing checklist.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.