NTSB Factual Report

On August 24, 2004, approximately 1130 central daylight time, a Cessna 172S single-engine airplane, N2477E, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain during cruise flight near Leakey, Texas. The private pilot and two passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by Uvalde Flight Training Center Inc., of Uvalde, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from the Garner Field Airport (UVA), near Uvalde, Texas, at 1050.

The 270-hour pilot reported in a written statement that he was flying over a house owned by one of the passengers at approximately 500 feet above ground level (agl), before departing the area over a mountainous area. The pilot stated that it "felt like something was pulling me [the airplane] down as the airspeed was dropping fast." He added power and lowered the nose to increase airspeed, but the airplane continued to sink. Subsequently, the airplane impacted terrain on the side of a mountain, approximately 100 feet below the peak.

Examination of the airplane by an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the site of the accident, revealed the right wing spar and the engine firewall were bent. The airplane came to rest upright among trees at a field elevation of 2,231 feet.

At 1100, the automated weather observing system at UVA, located approximately 32 miles south of the accident site reported wind from 170 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, sky condition clear, temperature 88 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 30.01 inches of Mercury.

The NTSB investigator-in-charge calculated the density altitude to be 4,532 feet.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with terrain. A contributing factor was the high density altitude.