Cessna 172 N494JB

Summary

On 28 March 2019 at about 20:45 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N494JB, operated by United Flight System, was involved in an accident near Spring, Texas, 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

28 March 2019 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Spring, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

David Wayne Hooks Memorial (DWH)

Coordinates

30.0617, -95.5528

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N494JB

Category

Airplane

Year built

2002

Engines

1

Operator

United Flight System

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spring → Austin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA113

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane directional control while taxiing at an unsafe ground speed.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was taxiing the airplane to the runway to depart on a personal flight when the airplane veered to the right and the right main landing gear descended into a drainage ditch. The pilot and the passenger were not injured. The right horizontal stabilizer and elevator were substantially damaged. In a postaccident statement, the pilot reported no anomalies with the wheel brake system before she began taxiing the airplane. She also reported that the tailwind during taxi caused a high groundspeed but that the airplane was “uncontrollable” via the rudder and brakes. The airplane’s pilot operating handbook states that the groundspeed and use of brakes should be held to a minimum while taxiing, directional control should be maintained with the steerable nosewheel and the rudder, and the proper positioning of the ailerons and elevator for wind direction is required to maintain directional control and balance. Additionally, according to the FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook, a pilot must maintain a safe taxiing speed to ensure directional control and must have the ability to recognize any potential hazards in time to avoid them and to stop or turn where and when desired without undue reliance on the wheel brakes. Postaccident examination and testing revealed no anomalies with the airplane’s wheel brake system or the steerable nosewheel. The wind at the airport about the time of the accident was from 140° at 13 knots gusting to 21 knots. Thus, the pilot likely allowed the airplane to accelerate to an unsafe groundspeed during taxi, resulting in a loss of directional control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.