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CEN20CA116

2020-03-07 · Mack, Colorado, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N78BK has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (CESSNA 182T, built 2024), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to reconnoiter the approach area in preparation for an off-airport landing on a sandbar, which necessitated an evasive maneuver to avoid wires and resulted in an unintentional landing in the river short of the sandbar and a subsequent nose-over.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, he was conducting an off-airport landing to a river sandbar when he noticed wires in his approach path. He pushed forward on the stick to lower the nose and avoid the wires; however, the airplane touched down in the river just short of the sand bar and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing strut. The pilot reported that the accident could have been avoided if he had reconnoitered the area for obstacles before beginning the approach. According to the pilot, he was conducting an off-airport landing to a river sandbar when he noticed wires in his approach path. He pushed forward on the stick to lower the nose and avoid the wires; however, the airplane touched down in the river just short of the sand bar and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing strut. The pilot reported that the accident could have been avoided if he had reconnoitered the area for obstacles before beginning the approach. The pilot added that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Flight planning/navigation-Pilot - C
  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Soft surface-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_CEN20CA116.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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