# Accident 20021025036199A: Cessna 172N, Sebring, FL, October 25, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 25, 2002, 13:30 local time
- Place: Sebring, FL
- Airport: Sebring Regional Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.4606° N, 81.3483° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.4606&lon=-81.3483&mi=10
- Aircraft: N267EP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N267EP-2004-02-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 134 total, 128 in this make and model, 38 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA03LA008](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA03LA008) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021025036199A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON OCTOBER 25, 2002, BETWEEN 1330 AND 1345 EDT, A CESSNA 172N, N267EP, CRASHED DURING TAKEOFF FROM SEBRING REGIONAL AIRPORT. THE AIRPLANE RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE; AND THE STUDENT PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND THE WIND WAS LIGHT. THE STUDENT PILOT, WHO WAS ON THE SECOND LEG OF HER SECOND SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT, WHICH ORIGINATED IN NAPLES, FL, STOPPED IN SEBRING TO PURCHASE FUEL AND HAVE HER LOGBOOK STAMPED. SHE SUBSEQUENTLY TAXIED THE AIRPLANE TO THE RUNUP AREA FOR SEBRING'S RUNWAY 36. AFTER AN UNHURRIED RUNUP, SHE TAXIED ONTO RUNWAY 36 AND APPLIED FULL TAKEOFF POWER IN A NORMAL MANNER. NUMEROUS EYEWITNESSES REPORTED THAT UPON POWER APPLICATION, THE AIRPLANE YAWED LEFT, AND NO CORRECTION WAS MADE. AS THE AIRPLANE NEARED THE EDGE OF THE RUNWAY, APPROXIMATELY 600 FEET FROM START OF THE TAKEOFF ROLL, A PREMATURE, NOSE-HIGH ROTATION WAS INITIATED. THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED STEEPLY; THEN STALLED, AND THE LEFT WING DROPPED. THE AIRPLANE CRASHED INTO THE GRASS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY IN A NOSE-LOW ATTITUDE WITH THE LEFT WING STRIKING, THEN THE NOSE, AND THEN THE RIGHT WING. POST-CRASH INVESTIGATION NOTEDTHAT ELEVATOR TRIM WAS NOSE DOWN POSITION, AND FLAPS WERE EXTENDED ABOUT 10 DEGREES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA03LA008](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA03LA008), Oct 25, 2002: Cessna 172N (N267EP), Sebring, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student pilot's premature rotation and failure to maintain airspeed during the takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall, an uncontrolled descent, and an impact with the ground.

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.

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