Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Johnstown, Colorado 80534
Monday, July 1, 1996 15:45 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a local area personal flight, the aircraft struck two power lines approximately 1 mile apart, the second of which sheared off approximately 1/3 of the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The pilot then flew the aircraft back to the point of departure, a distance of about 70 miles, and parked the aircraft in a shelter. He did not report the power line encounter. The aircraft was found the following day with evidence of substantial damage to many portions of the aircraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to maintain proper altitude/clearance from obstructions, while buzzing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/1/1996
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1545
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City JOHNSTOWN
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80534
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1534 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID FNL
Elevation of weather observation facility 5016
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 3
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 7000
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 665
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 2 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:12AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N19682
NTSB Number FTW96LA290
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172L
Aircraft Series Identifier 172L
Aircraft Serial Number 17260665
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 17 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours 4098
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KENNETH B. CRONK
Aircraft Owner Street Address 13070 ROAD M PO BOX 188
Aircraft Owner City WOODROW
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80757
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name MICHAEL M. CRONK
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 11040 EAST COLORADO DRIVE
Operator City AURORA
Operator State CO
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 80012
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code APA
Departure City ENGLEWOOD
Departure State CO
Departure Country
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --