Cessna 172G N3901L
2 April 2022 · Van Nuys, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 2 April 2022 at about 21:50 local time, a Cessna 172G registered N3901L was involved in an accident near Van Nuys, California, United States. 8 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.
The record
- Date
- at 21:50
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Van Nuys, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Van Nuys (VNY)
- Coordinates
- 34.2185, -118.4922
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172G
- Registration
- N3901L
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1966
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR22LA143
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Probable cause
The student pilot’s failure to maintain sufficient distance behind a jet airplane which, resulted in his loss of airplane control due to the jet airplane’s jet blast and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The student pilot and flight instructor taxied the Cessna 172 and stopped short of the displaced threshold runway behind a Bombardier Challenger awaiting their clearance for departure. A witness stated that the Cessna was about “2-wing spans” behind the Challenger and was in line with the jet thrust vector. Shortly after the pilot of the Challenger was cleared for takeoff, while still on the taxiway, with brakes applied, the pilot increased the engine power to about 80 to 90%, then released the brakes, and departed. The flight instructor of the Cessna reported that he cut the mixture and deflected the aileron control towards the Challenger’s jetbast, but the airplane lifted, and the left wing was substantially damaged when it contacted the runway. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations The Challenger pilot reported that he was not aware of anything unusual related to his takeoff, as he was not contacted by the local air traffic control tower.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 172G | N3901L | - | Substantial |
| Bombardier CL-600-2B16 | N604RM | Sanctus Aviation LLC | - |
Other Cessna 172 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 2022 | Cessna 172P | Elizabethtown, Kentucky, United States | Tennessee Flyers, Inc | No injuries | - |
| 25 Jul 2022 | Cessna 172 | Qualicum Beach, Canada | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 9 Jun 2022 | Cessna 172S | Salina, Kansas, United States | Kansas State University - Salina | No injuries | - |
| 21 Oct 2022 | Cessna 172 | Toughkenamon, Pennsylvania, United States | New Garden Flight Connection Inc | Minor injuries | - |
| 19 Apr 2022 | Cessna 172N | Englewood, Colorado, United States | Aspen Flying Club | No injuries | - |
| 18 Feb 2022 | Cessna 172 | Les Saintes Terre-de-Haut, Guadeloupe | - | Unknown | - |
All 12,209 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Mar 2022 | Cessna 182D | Desert Camp, California, United States | Cloudstreet Flying Services | No injuries | - |
| 4 Sep 2022 | Bell 407 | Mount Baldy, California, United States | Air Methods Corp | Serious injuries | - |
| 16 Apr 2022 | Stoddard Hamilton GLASAIR SUPER II | Oxnard, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 Dec 2022 | Embraer Executive EMB-505 | Hawthorne, California, United States | Solairus Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 10 Jun 2022 | Mooney M20K | Camarillo, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 23 Jul 2022 | North American T-28B | Fallbrook, California, United States | Mach One Air Charters Inc | Fatal | 1 |