# Incident 19980201002599I: Cessna 172, Indianapolis, IN, February 1, 1998

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 1, 1998, 11:45 local time
- Place: Indianapolis, IN
- Airport: Indianapolis Terry Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.7684° N, 86.1580° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Indianapolis, IN, within about 11 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7684&lon=-86.1580&mi=10
- Aircraft: N47TP (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Reported engine: CONT O300D
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 69 total, 56 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980201002599I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: CESSNA 172, N47TP, PILOTED BY MR. TERRY B. ARMSTRONG, WAS SHOOTING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS AT THE TERRY AIRPORT. WEATHER AT THE TIME WAS VMC AND WITHIN THE LIMITS ESTABLISHED ON MR. ARMSTRONG'S STUDENT PILOT LICENSE. A WITNESS OBSERVED THE NEXT TO THE LAST TOUCH AND GO AND NOTICED THE SEVERE NOSE WHEEL SHIMMY ON THE TAKEOFF. ON THE NEXT LANDING MR. ARMSTRONG TOUCHED DOWN AND STARTED TO SWERVE TO THE LEFT AS INDICATED BY THE SKID MARKS ON THE RUNWAY. THE AIRCRAFT EXITED THE RUNWAY TO THE LEFT SHEARING THE NOSE GEAR AND CAME TO REST APPROXIMATELY 15 FEET OFF OF THE RUNWAY. DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT WAS MINOR AND THE PILOT, MR. ARMSTRONG, RECEIVED NO INJURIES. AIRWORTHINESS: IT IS FELT THAT THE SEVERE NOSE WHEEL SHIMMY COULD HAVE BEEN DETECTED BY PROPER PREFLIGHT OF THE NOSE GEAR OF THE AIRCRAFT INCLUDING THE SHIMMY DAMPER. A WITNESS TO THE LAST TAKEOFF STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS EXPERIENCING SEVERE NOSE GEAR SHIMMY. AN INSPECTION OF THE FAILED NOSE GEAR INDICATED THAT THE NOSE GEAR HAD STARTED TO SEPARATE FROM THE FIREWALL AS A RESULT OF THE SEVERE SHIMMY. AIRMAN COMPETENCE: MR. ARMSTRONG IS A STUDENT WITH LESS THAN 70 FLYING HOURS. MR. ARMSTRONG SHOULD HAVE ABORTED HIS TAKEOFF WHEN HE EXPERIENCED THE NOSE WHEEL SHIMMY ON TAKEOFF. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.