SEA94LA238
1994-09-09 · BULLFROG, Utah, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport U07
Current FAA registration · N9918Q
- Make / Model
- CESSNA 172M
- Year of manufacture
- 1975 · 19 years old at event
- Engine
- LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
- Seats / Engines
- 4 seats · 1 engine
- Last airworthiness date
- 19750912
- ADS-B equipped
- Yes — Mode-S ADD9D9
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND EXCEEDED THE AIRPLANE'S MAXIMUM CROSSWIND COMPONENT CAPABILITY. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE GUSTY CROSSWIND.
Factual narrative
On September 9, 1994, about 1745 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172, N9918Q, operated by Hi Valley Aviation, Inc., Heber City, Utah, collided with terrain during landing rollout and was substantially damaged in Bullfrog, Utah. The private pilot and his three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was filed. The personal flight departed from Provo, Utah, and was conducted under 14 CFR 91. According to a district ranger at the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area, the airplane landed on runway 19 at the Bullfrog Basin Airport during a "strong crosswind." The airplane "bounced a couple of times" and veered off the east side of the runway. The airplane then struck a mound of dirt along the eastern edge of the runway. The left wing was buckled and the left horizontal stabilizer was damaged. The ranger reported that the winds were from the west at 25 miles per hour (mph), gusting to 45 mph. According to the pilot, he "knew that [he] was going to be fighting a crosswind out of the south west and that it was a strong one." The pilot stated that after touching down on the runway, the airplane began to drift, despite the pilot's attempt to keep the airplane aligned with the runway centerline. The airplane then "skidded" off the east side of the runway and struck a mound of dirt. No mechanical malfunctions were reported. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND ATTEMPTED TO PERFORM A FULL STOP LANDING AT THE AIRPORT. STRONG CROSSWINDS WITH REPORTED GUSTS OF 45 MILES PER HOUR WERE BLOWING FROM THE SOUTHWEST. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN ON THE SOUTHERLY RUNWAY AND THEN BEGAN TO DRIFT TO THE RIGHT. THE PILOT DID NOT MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AND THE AIRPLANE DRIFTED OFF THE RUNWAY AND INTO A MOUND OF DIRT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1994_SEA94LA238.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type. All research papers
- NASA NTRS 2023 · Reprint (Version printed in journal) Finite Element Simulation of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests for Cessna 172 Aircraft
The NASA Emergency Locator Transmitter Survivability and Reliability project was initiated in 2013 to assess the crash performance standards for the next generation of emergency locator transmitter (E…
- 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.