Cessna 172M N20488

Summary

On 2 October 2015 at about 03:10 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N20488, operated by David F Waggoner, was involved in an accident near McMinnville, Oregon, 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

2 October 2015 at 03:10

Classification

Accident

Location

McMinnville, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Mc Minnville Muni (MMV)

Coordinates

45.2000, -123.1300

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N20488

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

David F Waggoner

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Aurora → McMinnville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

GAA16CA011

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's failure to correct the student pilot's approach path during the final approach, which resulted in a collision with runway threshold lights. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's failure to attain and maintain the recommended approach path.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that on his first night training flight he was practicing takeoffs and landings. He stated that during his third approach, as he was turning from base to final, the precision approach path indicator (PAPI) displayed four red lights, indicating that he was below the recommended approach path. The flight instructor told him that he was too low and to add power. The student pilot added power and the far left PAPI light started to turn from red to white. He reported that on short final, he reduced engine power to idle and that during touchdown, the airplane collided with a runway threshold light. The airplane sustained substantial damage to horizontal stabilizer spar. The flight instructor reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.