N8279E

On October 30, 1993, at 0730 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N8279E, collided with a berm short of runway 24 during a landing undershoot at the Hi Desert Airport, Joshua Tree, California. A witness to the accident stated that the airplane touched down about 30 feet short of the runway threshold and contacted a small berm. The aircraft was owned and operated by the Hi Desert Airport and rented by the student pilot for a local solo instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft incurred substantial damage. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated at the Hi Desert Airport on the day of the mishap at about 0715 hours as a local solo traffic pattern practice flight.

In his written statement, the pilot reported that all aspects of the approach were normal with a stabilized 400 feet per minute descent rate until the aircraft was about 200 feet AGL on short final. The pilot said that the aircraft suddenly encountered a strong sink rate accompanied by a loss of airspeed. The pilot said he immediately applied power and increased the pitch attitude; however, the descent rate could not be arrested prior to the aircraft's main landing gear colliding with a dirt berm about 30 feet short of the runway.