Event LAX98LA135

Factual narrative

On April 11, 1998, at 1419 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 172M, N73405, was destroyed during a landing attempt when it impacted a construction trailer located approximately 200 yards west of runway 21 at Scottsdale Airport, Scottsdale, Arizona. There were minor injuries to the pilot and two passengers. The aircraft is owned by Desert Coast Aviation, Inc., of Scottsdale, and was operated by the licensed private pilot. The flight departed from Eloy, Arizona, on a visual flight to Scottsdale. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot reported that, after initial touchdown, the airplane bounced back into the air and a strong gust of wind pushed it sideways. He then attempted to go-around but a second gust pushed the airplane toward a steel tower. The pilot then banked the airplane to the right to miss the tower and flew into an unoccupied construction trailer. At the time of the accident, the surface wind was variable around 140 degrees magnetic at 15 knots with gusts to 20 knots. Using the gust factor of 20 knots and a wind direction of 140 degrees, the crosswind component for runway 21 at the time of the accident was calculated to be 19 knots. According to Cessna Flight Test Engineering, the maximum crosswind component for the 172 model is 15 knots. The pilot reported that, after initial touchdown, the airplane bounced back into the air and a strong gust of wind pushed it sideways. He then attempted to go-around but a second gust pushed the airplane toward a steel tower. The pilot then banked the airplane to the right to miss the tower and flew into an unoccupied construction trailer. At the time of landing, the crosswind component for the runway was approximately 19 knots, which is 4 knots above the limit stated by Cessna Aircraft Company for the model 172. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12