N5255F

On May 25, 1995, at 1854 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172F, N5255F, collided with the ground during an attempted go-around from a field at Boonville, California. The aircraft was owned and operated by the Beale AFB Flying Club and rented by the pilot for a personal cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a military VFR flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage; however, the certificated airline transport pilot and the one passenger were not injured. The flight originated at Beale AFB at 1735 as a cross-country flight to Little River, California.

In an oral statement, the pilot said that the destination airport was fogged in when the flight arrived and he was attempting to find an airport that was open. After arriving over the airport at Boonville, the pilot made a low flyby of the runway to check it over, in accordance with the flying club rules regarding landings at strange airports. The pilot added power to go around and enter the traffic pattern again for landing. As the aircraft achieved about 300 feet agl, the engine lost power and the aircraft contacted the soft ground beyond the end of the runway. The nose wheel sheared off after it dug into the soft soil.

Following recovery of the aircraft, it was examined by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector and a certificated airframe and powerplant mechanic. The inspector reported that no preimpact discrepancies were found. After repair of impact damage, the engine was successfully started and run using the airframe fuel and ignition systems.

The temperature and dew point at the closest weather reporting facility were noted to be 79 and 42 degrees respectively.