Mesquite Metro Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mesquite, Texas 75181
Monday, November 24, 1997 12:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during the landing flare, while practicing a soft field landing technique on runway 17, he encountered a wind gust from the right which offset the airplane to the left of the runway's centerline. He stated that he applied full power to abort the landing; however, the airplane continued to drift to the left and was headed towards the airport's windsock. While attempting to maneuver to avoid the windsock, the pilot lost control of the airplane, and the airplane nosed over coming to rest in an inverted position. In a written report, the pilot stated that 'he believed that full power was not achieved despite forward throttle position.' He added that 'he did not have sufficient time to close the carburetor heat' during his attempt to abort the landing. The pilot reported that the winds at the time of the accident were from 140 degrees at 10 gusting to 15 knots. The flight crew of a King Air that landed on the same runway, while the Cessna was on downwind, reported that they 'did not see or feel anything unusual during their approach, landing or roll out.'

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions and failure to maintain directional control of the airplane, while landing. The gusty crosswind was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/24/1997
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City MESQUITE
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 75181
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MESQUITE METRO
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HQZ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 446
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
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) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 852
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 24 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1315
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:40PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N80831
NTSB Number FTW98LA057
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 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier 172M
Aircraft Serial Number 17266765
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 Apr 10 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 3582
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DAVID WALSTAD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4315 SEGURA CT. SOUTH
Aircraft Owner City FORT WORTH
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76132
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name FRED PATE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 5070 S. COLLINS ST. SUITE 102
Operator City ARLINGTON
Operator State TX
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 76004
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 F54
Departure City ARLINGTON
Departure State TX
Departure Country
Departure Time 1145
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
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 17
Runway Length 5999
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --