Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On September 8, 1998, approximately 0840 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N40SR, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain while landing at Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado. The student pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The local training flight originated at 0710.

According to the pilot's accident report, he was making touch and go landings on runway 17R (10,001 ft. x 100 ft., asphalt) in calm wind conditions. After the airplane touched down, he applied brakes and the airplane veered to the right side of the runway, "either because of uneven brake application, or wind gust, or combination [of the two]." As the airplane departed the right side of the runway, the pilot applied power in an attempt to regain control. The airplane struck a runway light, severing the nose landing gear. The airplane went down an embankment and came to a halt on uneven terrain. According to the insurance adjuster, the airframe was compromised to the extent that repairs were not economically feasible. The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. Factors were the runway light and the terrain conditions.