NTSB CHI91LA054 — 1991-01-01 · NEW HOLSTEIN, Wisconsin, United States

Current FAA registration · N55409

Make / Model: CESSNA 172P
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A710C1

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N55409 Cessna 172P None

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S DECISION TO CONTINUE THE LANDING APPROACH, LANDING ON AN ICE COVERED RUNWAY AND THE INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR THE CROSWIND.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT DECIDED TO MAKE AN UNPLANNED LANDING AT AN UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT. DURING THE FLYOVER INSPECTION OF THE AIRPORT THE PILOT WAS NOT ABLE TO IDENTIFY CLEAR ICE ON THE RUNWAY SURFACE. WHILE FLYING ON FINAL APPROACH THE PILOT BECAME AWARE OF THE ICE. HE DECIDED TO TOUCHDOWN AT A 'SLOW SPEED' AND USED FULL FLAPS IN A DIRECT LEFT CROSSWIND. THE PILOT STATED HE USED A CRAB TO SLIP METHOD FOR LANDING IN THE CROSSWIND AND WENT TO THE SIDE SLIP ABOUT 2 TO 3 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE AIRPLANE YAWED LEFT AND WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT SLID RIGHT INTO A SNOWBANK. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_CHI91LA054.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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