Cessna C172 accident near Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, July 22, 1984
On July 22, 1984 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna C172, registered N3275L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania (Sandy Lake 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 22, 1984 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania · Sandy Lake
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C172
- Registration
- N3275L · registry record · serial 17256175
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT STRUCK A RIDGE AT THE RWYS APPROACH END AND COLLAPSED THE NOSE GEAR. THE ACFT THEN SLID 120 FT DOWN THE CENTER OF THE RWY. THE PLT STATED HE MADE A NORMAL APCH FOR A SHORT FIELD LANDING BUT THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN 10 FT SHORT OF THE RWY. THERE WERE NO MALFUNCTIONS FOUND WITH THE ACFT.
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: 264 hours in all; 116 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 192 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,280 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 4, 1984; 86 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BVI Beaver Lake PA at 3:30 pm
- Destination: Sandy Lake PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 1,800 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.