North Las Vegas Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030
Friday, April 4, 2003 7:50 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane descended near vertically to ground impact on a private pilot certification practical flight test. There were no witnesses to the accident. The examiner and private pilot applicant departed to a practice area for a private certificate check ride. Passers-by noticed a fire and what appeared to be the wreckage of an airplane in the practice area and notified authorities. Examination of the wreckage revealed a vertical impact driving the engine up and aft beyond the firewall into the cabin area. The engine compartment and fuselage were heavily damaged by a ground fire. The right wing leading edge was accordioned with crush deformation nearly perpendicular to the chordline aft to the main spar on about a 30-degree angle from inboard to outboard, with evidence of airplane rotation to the left. No discrepancies were found with the airframe or engine during the examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the applicant pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/4/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 750
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City North Las Vegas
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89030
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 361735N
Event Location Longitude 1152053W
Event Location Airport North Las Vegas Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KVGT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 8.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 330
Airport Elevation 2205
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1600 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID VGT
Elevation of weather observation facility 2005
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.89
Density Altitude (feet) 2037
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17974
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 4 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 830
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 7 2005 10:33AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-LAS-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N553CH
NTSB Number LAX03FA124
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172P
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17275168
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 Mar 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1695
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LAS VEGAS FLYING CLUB
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City NORTH LAS VEGAS
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89032
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code VGT
Departure City North Las Vegas
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 730
Departure Time Zone PST
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? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 19 2005 2:05PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --