Cessna 172P N66090 accident near Sebastian, Florida

Probable cause

The pilot's misjudged airspeed and glidepath, which resulted in a landing area overshoot and runway excursion.

NTSB analysis

The pilot stated that due to other traffic ahead in the airport traffic pattern, he purposely entered a high right base leg for runway 10, a 3,199-foot-long asphalt runway. The airplane remained high during the approach and the pilot attempted to land on the last one-half of the runway; however, the airplane was also too fast as the pilot had selected only 10 degrees of flap extension. The airplane subsequently touched down near the end of the runway, traveled over an approximate 500-foot grass area beyond the end of the runway, and struck a fence before coming to rest upright. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The inspector did not observe any preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane, nor did the pilot report any. The recorded wind near the accident site, about the time of the accident, was from 040 degrees at 7 knots.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA15CA196 for the full record.