ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 223464
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| Date: | Saturday 23 March 2019 |
| Time: | 10:43 |
| Type: |  Cessna R172E |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N7879N |
| MSN: | R172-0270 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1967 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 17752 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental IO-360-DB |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | NW of Northern Colorado Regional Airport (KFNL), Loveland, CO -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Colorado Sprngs, CO (COS) |
| Loveland, CO (FNL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
As the pilot approached the airport, another pilot heard him on the radio and advised him of "significant down drafts" on the approach to runway 15. The pilot acknowledged the transmission and continued his approach. When he turned onto the base leg, he encountered the "severe down-draft/microburst" the other pilot had mentioned. He applied full power in an attempt to climb out, but the airplane continued to descend striking a power-line and tree, and subsequently impacted terrain.
A review of the weather showed that a complex wind pattern existed over the area during the period with a wind shift occurring immediately after the time of the accident. No support for convective microburst activity was noted over the area; however, a large area of light intensity precipitation with some potential for some outflow was noted, which could have been resulted in the different winds occurring over the accident site during the period. In addition, the High Resolution Rapid Refresh model sounding and satellite imagery and pilot reports noted support for mountain wave activity over the area, which supported downslope winds and downdraft activity in the area at the time of the accident. The National Weather Service had AIRMET advisories for turbulence and IFR and mountain obscuration conditions over the area, but no advisory for low-level wind shear.
It is likely the pilot encountered shifting winds due to weather system in the area. With his reduced engine power on the base leg of the traffic pattern, the pilot most likely got into a downdraft that produced a sink rate that he could not recover from.
Probable Cause: An inflight loss of control on landing approach due to encountering a down-draft, and the pilot's failure to take timely action to abandon the approach and perform a go-around.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Possible: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7879N/history/20190323/1536Z/KCOS/KFNL
https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N7879N
https://flightaware.com/photos/view/4477540-7aca9faaba1dbaf4ec3b1f92dcff30c882af3704/aircrafttype/C172
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Mar-2019 18:10 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 23-Mar-2019 18:22 | Geno | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2019 18:28 | Geno | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2019 18:29 | Geno | Updated [Source] |
| 23-Mar-2019 18:38 | Geno | Updated [Source] |
| 24-Mar-2019 13:46 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source] |
| 25-Mar-2019 20:36 | Captain Adam | Updated [Operator] |
| 26-Mar-2019 20:47 | Anon. | Updated [Phase] |
| 02-Oct-2019 09:15 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Country, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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