23 May 2019: Cessna 172 M — Shannon School Of Aeronautics Llc

23 May 2019: Cessna 172 M (N64003) — Shannon School Of Aeronautics Llc

No fatalities • Stafford, VA, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control while landing in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in a runway excursion.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On May 23, 2019, about 1410 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N64003, was substantially damaged while landing at Stafford Regional Airport (RMN), Stafford, Virginia. The private pilot was no injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Shannon Airport (EZF), Fredericksburg, Virginia, about 1315. The pilot stated that during approach to runway 15, the automated weather observation system (AWOS) reported the wind from 220° (varying between 150° and 240°) at 9 knots, gusting to 14 knots. The pilot further stated that there was some crosswind, but it only required a minor crab during final approach. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane veered right, traveled off the right side of the runway and the nosegear struck a concrete slab. The airplane travelled another 10 feet before the nosegear collapsed and the airplane came to rest upright. A witness stated that he departed RMN in his airplane about 3 to 5 minutes prior to the accident. At that time, the AWOS indicated a crosswind of less than 10 knots, slightly favoring runway 15. The witness further stated that during initial climb, between 50 and 150 feet above ground level, the airplane encountered a severe increase in crosswind that required large counter control input. The airplane also encountered strong downdrafts until climbing to a higher altitude. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the firewall, engine mount, and left wing. The inspector was able to confirm control continuity from the rudder to the rudder pedals. He did not observe any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The recorded wind at RMN, at 1415, was from 230° at 8 knots, gusting to 16 knots.

Contributing factors

  • cause Pilot
  • cause Directional control — Not attained/maintained
  • Effect on operation

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 230/08kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.