NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX94LA218
Registry · N8246B
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172
Year of manufacture
1957 · 37 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (145 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19570716
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AB42E3
Registrant of record
BOYER CHRISTOPHER
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft. A factor in the accident was the pilot's limited experience in conventional gear aircraft.
Factual narrative
On May 8, 1994, at 1640 Pacific daylight time, a tailwheel equipped Cessna 172, N8246B, ground looped on landing at John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, California. The aircraft, owned and operated by the pilot, was on a local area personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the operation. The aircraft sustained substantial wing and fuselage damage. The certificated commercial pilot and the two passengers on board were not injured. The flight originated at the John Wayne Airport on the day of the mishap at 1550 hours. In a verbal statement, the pilot reported that he made a normal main wheel touchdown on runway 19L. During the landing rollout, he lost directional control and the aircraft ground looped off the runway, damaging the left wing, wheel, and stabilizer. The pilot reported that he had only 15 hours of total experience in conventional gear aircraft. The pilot reported that he made a normal main wheel touchdown on runway 19L. During the landing rollout, he lost directional control and the aircraft ground looped off the runway, damaging the left wing, wheel, and stabilizer. The pilot reported that he had only 15 hours of total experience in conventional gear aircraft. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1994_LAX94LA218.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type. Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Crash Testing and Simulation of a Cessna 172 Aircraft: Pitch Down Impact Onto Soft Soil
During the summer of 2015, NASA Langley Research Center conducted three full-scale crash tests of Cessna 172 (C-172) aircraft at the NASA Langley Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Simulating the Impact Response of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests of Cessna 172 Aircraft
During the summer of 2015, a series of three full-scale crash tests were performed at the Landing and Impact Research Facility located at NASA Langley Research Center of Cessna 172 aircraft.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Conference paper
Validation of Training Satisfaction Survey
The Training Satisfaction Survey (TSS) was developed as part of a larger project to examine the features of Virtual Reality software and supporting devices as a training program on visual illusions an…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Data in Brief)
Cockpit voice recorder transcript data: Capturing safety voice and safety listening during historic aviation accidents
Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts capture audio data within cockpit environments. This aids the investigation of causal factors contributing to aviation accidents by revealing communication and…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Safety Science)
Safety voice and safety listening during aviation accidents: Cockpit voice recordings reveal that speaking-up to power is not enough
Abstract Safety voice is theorised as an important factor for mitigating accidents, but behavioural research during actual hazards has been scant.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Can Backward-Chained, Ab-Initio Pilot Training Decrease Time to First Solo?
Flight simulation has made progressively significant inroads into pilot training at all levels of a pilot’s career – typically starting with training for the Instrument rating in light aircraft and co…
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