Cessna 170A accident near Gainesville, Missouri, March 22, 2002
On March 22, 2002 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 170A, registered N170PS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gainesville, Missouri (Gainesville Memorial Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's misjudgment of distance/altitude and his failure to perform a go-around.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 22, 2002 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Gainesville, Missouri · Gainesville Memorial Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170A · all 170As on the register
- Registration
- N170PS · registry record · serial 20152
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he landed long and an aborted landing was not possible when he realized that the airplane would not stop prior to the end of the runway. He attempted to stop at the end of the runway by intentionally ground looping the airplane but the airplane slid off the runway and impacted a drainage ditch.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,603 hours in all; 1,743 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 2,603 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 1, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-145 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FLP Flippin AR at 8:40 pm
- Destination: H27 Gainsville MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 190, 1,895 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 5°F (-15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.40 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from BPK, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI02LA096.