Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Cedar Rapids Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Sunday, January 17, 2010 19:50 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The non-instrument-rated pilot received a preflight weather briefing and delayed the flight as instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) were forecast for his route of flight until 1200. The briefer stated that the ceiling at the pilot’s destination airport would probably be 2,000 feet overcast at best later in the day. At 1600, the pilot departed without obtaining another weather briefing, and received flight following during the course of the flight. The pilot reported that while en route he was going to stop for fuel; however, the destination airport was IMC so he decided to continue. Upon reaching his destination he discovered that the weather was IMC, so he diverted to a nearby airport, where he requested emergency assistance. The approach controller offered the nearest visual flight rules airport; however, the pilot stated that he did not have enough fuel to get there. The pilot informed the controller that he had practiced instrument landing system (ILS) approaches during a flight review. The controller gave the pilot vectors and a frequency for an ILS approach. The pilot stated that he attempted to fly the glideslope, but that he became confused as to whether he should climb or descend in order to center the glideslope needle. The airplane contacted the terrain about 2 miles east of the airport and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot had a total of 4 hours of instrument flight time.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain a proper glidepath during the approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of instrument proficiency.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/17/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1950 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Cedar Rapids |
| Event State | IOWA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 52401 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 415304N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0914238W |
| Event Location Airport | Cedar Rapids |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CID |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1952 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CID |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 864 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Indefinite (V V) |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 0.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.9 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26630 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-DSM-FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 27 2010 12:05PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sulp |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8584X |
| NTSB Number | CEN10CA100 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| 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 | P172D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | P17257184 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2400 |
| 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 4 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 9 |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | PRAIRIE HAWK INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 305 W MAIN ST STE A |
| Aircraft Owner City | WASHINGTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | IA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 52353-1724 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Douglas L. Tindal |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Washington |
| Operator State | IA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 52353 |
| 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 | RVS |
| Departure City | Tulsa |
| Departure State | OK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1600 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | AWG |
| Destination City | Washington |
| Destination State | IA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 2 2010 4:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sulp |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |