Skyhaven Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania 18657
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 17:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of the Cessna 172K stated that he entered the pattern for runway 1, a 2007-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway. His traffic pattern altitude was 200 feet higher than the required 1,500 feet. He performed a slip to lose the excess altitude and establish an 80-mph descent on a downwind leg, with 10 degrees of flap extension. The pilot added another 10 degrees of flaps, reduced the throttle to 1,300 rpm, and turned onto a base leg. The airplane's speed remained at 80 mph, instead of decreasing to the 75 mph speed he was trying to attain. Although his speed was still higher than the speed he wanted, he turned to final and overshot the runway "numbers." He added, "the plane was traveling too fast to make the turn at the end of the runway." Consequently, he "ran off the end of the runway into an embankment." The pilot did not report any mechanical or flight control anomalies prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper airspeed while landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/3/2008
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Tunkhannock
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 18657
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 413145N
Event Location Longitude 0755649W
Event Location Airport Skyhaven Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 76N
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 639
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1630 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 151
Weather Observation Facility ID AVP
Elevation of weather observation facility 962
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
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) 24513
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern Region ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 20 2008 4:09PM
User who most recently changed record grer
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N79210
NTSB Number MIA08CA182
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 172K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17257964
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Dec 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2623
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Cherry Ridge Airport Flying Club Incorporated
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Tafton
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 18464
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Cherry Ridge Airport Flying Club Incorporated
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Tafton
Operator State PA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 18464
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 N30
Departure City Honesdale
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 76N
Destination City Tunkhannock
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 20 2008 3:48PM
User who most recently changed record grer
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 01
Runway Length 2007
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --