Cessna 172N

Flight Data

The 3 attempts to return to the 3200 ft runway all fell short (see above). See the reasons below.

Flight Analysis

Takeoff distance                                             Typical

Difference between climb and glide angle Very Small (0.3 degrees)

Altitude lost in turn                                        Very Small

The dashed grey line coming from the 4,000 ft. runway distance is set at the glide angle of the plane. Any time the plane falls below this line, without power, it is not possible to return to the runway (4,000 ft is used as our standard way to compare planes).

In this case, since the climb angle and glide angle were very close, with the altitude lost in the turn, the plane falls below the dashed line and is not able to make it back.  Perhaps with ground effect during the flare, the plane could make the runway.