Cessna 172 accident near Centre, Alabama, January 12, 1999
On January 12, 1999 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172, registered N6700A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Centre, Alabama (Headquarters airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and his failure to attain the proper touchdown point on the runway. Factors were the tailwind weather condition, and the wet sod runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 12, 1999 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Centre, Alabama · Headquarters · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N6700A · no longer on the register · serial 28800
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, there were power lines on the north end of the 2,000 foot runway so he elected to make a downwind landing to the north to miss the lines. The airplane landed long, and during the landing roll, the pilot found that the winds were stronger then expected and the airplane would not stop on the wet grass. The airplane slid off the end of the runway, crossing a ditch and highway 411, nosing over in a ditch on the other-side of the highway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to include the propeller, wing strut, wing spars, vertical stabilizer, and a collapsed nose gear.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 165 hours in all; 116 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 113 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 2,075 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GAD Gadsden AL at 6:30 pm
- Destination: AL27 Centre AL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 15 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 pm from ANB, 41 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.