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BFO86FID01

1986-02-23 · GORDONSVILLE, Virginia, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GVE

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

ON FEBRUARY 23, 1986, AT 1621 EST, A CESSNA 172L, N7191Q COLLIDED WITH A TREE DURING AN ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND AT GORDONSVILLE AIRPORT, GORDONSVILLE, VA., WHILE ON A PLEASURE FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AND THE STUDENT PILOT RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, ON FEBRUARY 23, 1986. A WITNESS, JAMES CHUMM, STATED THAT THE APPROACH WAS HIGH AND FAST AS THE POWER WAS INCREASED FOR WHAT HE ASSUMED WAS A GO-AROUND THE ENGINE WAS HEARD TO BACK-FIRE SEVERAL TIMES. HE THEN OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDING INTO A FIELD DURING WHICH THE LEFT WING COLLIDED WITH A TREE AND THE AIRCRAFT FLIPPED OVER AND CAME TO REST INVERTED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_BFO86FID01.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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