Cessna 172 Safety Record

The pilot's failure to maintain a normal approach path to the runway, which resulted in the airplane colliding with a tree and a house during final approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of recent flight experience.

The pilot's spatial disorientation and loss of situational awareness during the departure turn in dark night conditions, which resulted in an in-flight collision with water.

The pilot's decision to takeoff on the grass runway given the conditions at the time; his excessive aft control input during the takeoff roll, which resulted in the aft fuselage contacting the runway surface; and his failure to attain sufficient airspeed and exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

The flight instructor's failure to ensure that her seat was properly secured before initiating the takeoff, which resulted in a subsequent loss of control. Contributing was the lack of an installed secondary seat stop.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and inspection, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain an appropriate traffic pattern altitude and distance from the runway, which may have allowed the airplane to glide to the runway following the loss of engine power.

The noninstrument-rated pilot's improper decision to continue visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a collision with terrain.

The airplane’s encounter with a downdraft, and the pilot's decision to maneuver the airplane at a low altitude and airspeed, which provided insufficient time and altitude to recover before impacting terrain.

The noncertificated pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

The non-instrument-rated pilot's decision to conduct a cross-country flight over a mountain range in dark night conditions with limited night flight experience, which resulted in a collision with mountainous terrain.

The local controller's (LC) failure to properly identify the aircraft in the pattern and to ensure control instructions provided to the intended Cessna on downwind were being performed before turning Eagle1 into its path for landing. Contributing to the LC's actions was his incomplete situational awareness when he took over communications from the LC trainee due to the high workload at the time of the accident. Contributing to the accident were the inherent limitations of the see-and-avoid concept, resulting in the inability of the pilots involved to take evasive action in time to avert the collision.

The pilot’s loss of airplane control for reasons that could not be determined because an examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact abnormalities.

The pilot's loss of airplane control during initial climb after takeoff for reasons that could not be determined because an examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact anomalies.

The student pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during the initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the student's inappropriate configuration of the airplane's wing flaps for the initial climb.