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DEN02LA045

2002-05-22 · Cedar City, Utah, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CDC

Current FAA registration · N78760

Make / Model
CESSNA 172K
Year of manufacture
1968 · 34 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19681121
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AAADCA

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

the pilot's inadvertent stall/mush during the landing flare/touchdown. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswind weather conditions.

Factual narrative

On May 22, 2002, at approximately 1715 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172K, N78760, was substantially damaged during landing at Cedar City Regional Airport, Cedar City, Utah. The private pilot and his two passengers were not injured. Parowan Aero Services, Inc., Parowan, Utah, was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight that originated approximately 45 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan. The pilot said that he was in the landing flare, and the stall horn was sounding. He said a gust of wind from the right "caught" him and the airplane was forced airborne again. The pilot said the wind gust stopped and the airplane "slammed" down onto the runway. The firewall and engine mount were bent, and the main landing gear box assembly and left door frame were distorted/bent. The pilot said that he was in the landing flare, and the stall horn was sounding. He said a gust of wind from the right "caught" him and the airplane was forced airborne again. The pilot said the wind gust stopped and the airplane "slammed" down onto the runway. The firewall and engine mount were bent, and the main landing gear box assembly and left door frame were distorted/bent. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2002_DEN02LA045.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers