Cessna 172P N96178

Summary

On 26 April 2013 at about 16:40 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N96178, operated by McLean Holding Group LLC, was involved in an accident near Davis, West Virginia, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 April 2013 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Davis, West Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Windwood Fly-In Resort Airport (WV62)

Coordinates

39.0550, -79.4314

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N96178

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

McLean Holding Group LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Leesburg → Davis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13CA218

3 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s improper glidepath as he approached the runway and his subsequent delayed decision to abort the landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

At the end of a cross-country flight, the pilot entered the traffic pattern for the 3,000-foot-long by 40-foot-wide runway at the residential airpark. The pilot stated that because he was concerned about the houses located near the runway, he approached the runway higher and faster than he normally would. As a result, the airplane touched down near the runway mid-point. When he realized that insufficient distance remained to stop the airplane, the pilot aborted the landing. During the subsequent climb, the pilot heard the stall warning sound and decreased the pitch attitude to gain airspeed. About that time, the airplane struck trees beyond the departure end of the runway and impacted the ground in a nose-down attitude, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airframe or engine what would have precluded normal operation and that his decision to abort the landing was “about 5 seconds too late.”

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.