ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 172440
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| Date: | Monday 22 December 2014 |
| Time: | 08:52 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172M Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | American Patrols Inc |
| Registration: | N9922V |
| MSN: | 17264557 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 13694 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-E2B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Goldsmith, NW of Odessa Airport-Schlemeyer Field (KODO), Odessa, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Survey |
| Departure airport: | Odessa, TX (7T7) |
| Odessa, TX (7T7) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot was flying an aerial survey flight to look for oil and water pipeline leaks. Three witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying about 400 to 500 ft above ground level, enter a steep left bank, and then dive nose down toward the ground. One witness estimated that the airplane’s bank angle was about 80 degrees. Shortly after, witnesses observed smoke and flames coming from the accident site. A witness at the accident site reported that the airplane was engulfed in flames with the airplane’s tail in a vertical position and the wings flat on the ground. The leading edge crush angle was consistent with about a 30- to 40-degree nose-down, left-wing-low attitude. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Three days after the accident, another pilot overflew the accident area and observed a large water leak about 0.3 mile from the accident location. An oilfield worker who provided spill remediation estimated that the water would had to have been leaking for a few days for the leak to get so large. It is likely that the pilot observed the water leak during the accident flight and used an excessive bank angle to maneuver the airplane so that he could more closely observe the leak and that the airplane then experienced an accelerated stall with insufficient altitude for a recovery.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering at an excessive bank angle at a low altitude, which resulted in an accelerated stall and spin with insufficient altitude for a recovery.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=9922V
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Dec-2014 18:17 | Geno | Added |
| 22-Dec-2014 22:51 | Geno | Updated [Time, Operator, Source] |
| 23-Dec-2014 01:21 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Source] |
| 08-Jan-2015 04:40 | Geno | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 30-Nov-2017 19:43 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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