Cessna 172 accident near Midland, TX
On April 28, 2005, a Cessna 172 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Midland, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- April 28, 2005
- Place
- Midland, TX
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 31.850°N, 102.011°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050502X00535
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 28, 2005, approximately 0855 central daylight time, a Cessna 172 single-engine airplane, N8314L, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering near Midland, Texas. The airline transport pilot (ATP) and the commercial rated passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the aerial pipeline patrol training flight, which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight departed from the Skywest Airport (7T7), near Midland, Texas, about 0715. The purpose of the flight was to train a new company pilot in locating contract oil fields and the procedures for reporting oil spills/leaks. According to a company pilot, once an oil leak was detected, the pilot would orbit the site with 10 degrees of flaps selected. The pilot will then annotate the location on his route sheet and, depending on the contact, contact operations via radio, or telephone them after landing. The pipeline patrol flights are flown solo, below 500 feet (agl). The company was granted a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wavier for flights below 500 feet. Approximately 0930, an airplane in the area reported hearing a signal from an Emergency Locater Transmitter (ELT). At 1307 a pilot performing a pipeline patrol flight, located the accident site and reported its location to Midland Approach Control. There were no reported eye-witnesses to the accident. Radar data obtained from Midland Approach Control showed the accident airplane m
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A contributing factor was the low altitude.
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Browse: Texas · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
