ATL02LA096

Factual narrative

On May 10, 2002, at 2115 central daylight time, a Cessna 172, N8608B, registered to and owned by the pilot, collided with the ground while on short final to land at a private airstrip in Livingston, Tennessee. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the private pilot and passenger received minor injuries. The flight departed Livingston, Tennessee, at 2100. According to the pilot, he was on short final to land on runway 03, when he realized that his touch down would be short of the runway surface, as the airspeed indicator approached 65 knots. The pilot did not hear the stall warning horn, but his airspeed continued to decrease until the airplane stalled. The pilot did not recall if he added full power, but he did advance the throttle forward. The pilot stated, that there was a "gully" below him, and his first reaction was to continue to pull back on the yoke to avoid descending into the "gully". The pilot never recovered from the stall and the airplane collided with the ground. Examination of the airplane revealed, the right main landing gear separated from the fuselage. The left landing main gear was bent aft towards the horizontal stabilizer. The propeller blades were curled aft towards the firewall. The pilot and passenger sides of the airframe were buckled. The pilot did not report a flight control or mechanical problem with the airplane prior to the accident. According to the pilot, he was on short final to land, when he realized that the airplane was short of the runway surface. When the pilot pulled back on the yoke the airplane stalled and collided with the ground. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12