Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 172K near Tunkhannock, PA — 2008-09-03

Final reportMIA08CA182
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Date
2008-09-03
Location
Tunkhannock, PA, USA
Airport
76N
Aircraft
CESSNA 172K
Registration
N79210
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot's improper airspeed while landing.

NTSB narrative

The pilot of the Cessna 172K stated that he entered the pattern for runway 1, a 2007-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway. His traffic pattern altitude was 200 feet higher than the required 1,500 feet. He performed a slip to lose the excess altitude and establish an 80-mph descent on a downwind leg, with 10 degrees of flap extension. The pilot added another 10 degrees of flaps, reduced the throttle to 1,300 rpm, and turned onto a base leg. The airplane's speed remained at 80 mph, instead of decreasing to the 75 mph speed he was trying to attain. Although his speed was still higher than the speed he wanted, he turned to final and overshot the runway "numbers." He added, "the plane was traveling too fast to make the turn at the end of the runway." Consequently, he "ran off the end of the runway into an embankment." The pilot did not report any mechanical or flight control anomalies prior to the accident.

NTSB coding

View NTSB final report

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