Angel Fire Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Angel Fire, New Mexico 87710
Wednesday, April 10, 2002 12:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While landing the airplane experienced a strong gust of wind. Subsequently, the airplane veered to the right and exited the runway. The airplane impacted a 4-foot deep drainage ditch that runs parallel to the runway, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The wind was reported by the airport UNICOM to be from 240 degrees at 19 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilots failure to maintain directional control during the crosswind landing. A contributing factor was the gusting wind condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/10/2002
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1215
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Angel Fire
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 87710
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 362519N
Event Location Longitude 1051723W
Event Location Airport ANGEL FIRE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AXX
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 8380
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 15000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 19
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14427
NTSB Notification Source Pilot
NTSB Notification Date Apr 10 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Albuquerque, New Mexico

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N960TA
NTSB Number FTW02LA115
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S8960
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 Oct 8 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 76
Airframe Hours 76
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Edward R. McCracken
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 1239
Aircraft Owner City Angel Fire
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 87710
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 ABQ
Departure City Albuquerque
Departure State NM
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code AXX
Destination City Angel Fire
Destination State NM
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jul 21 2003 5:49PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 8900
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --