Cessna 172 N8487X

Summary

On 20 December 2018 at about 20:30 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N8487X was involved in an accident near Center, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 December 2018 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Center, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Center Muni (F17)

Coordinates

31.8353, -94.1572

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N8487X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1962

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mc Pherson → Center

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA123

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during landing in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during the landing flare, a wind gust "lifted the wing up 90 degrees." She then leveled the wings and added full power. When the wings were leveled, the airplane was above a drainage ditch between the runway and parallel taxiway. She realized that the airplane would not gain enough airspeed to "make the [taxiway]," so she intentionally aerodynamically stalled the airplane to "prevent flipping" it. The airplane descended and impacted the drainage ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right and left wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airport's automated weather observation system reported that the wind was from 310° at 14 knots, gusting to 23 knots. A weather station located about 2 miles southwest of the airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 311° at 2.7 mph (about 2 knots), gusting to 12.1 mph (about 11 knots). The pilot was landing the airplane on runway 35.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.