ANC01LA085

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172K · Wasilla, AK · July 15, 2001

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
July 14, 2001, 16:30 local (Jul 15, 2001, 00:30 UTC)
Place
Wasilla, AK
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N78254Cessna 172K
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 3, 2002
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA report
20010714039999A
Case key
52747

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's delay in aborting the takeoff roll.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

OverrunLanding - aborted
Aborted takeoff - delayedPilot in commandCause
Nose overLanding - aborted

Analysis

The student pilot was departing from a 3,700 feet long, paved runway. During the takeoff roll, about midway down the runway, she felt that the airplane was not going to fly as the airspeed exceeded 70 knots, so she closed the throttle, and applied heavy braking. The airplane veered slightly to the right, continued off the end of the runway, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and engine firewall. An FAA airworthiness inspector traveled to the accident airport and examined the airplane. He reported that he was unable to detect any preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Factual narrative

On July 14, 2001, about 1630 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 172K airplane, N78254, sustained substantial damage during an aborted takeoff from the Wasilla Airport, Wasilla, Alaska. The solo student pilot was not injured. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) instructional flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on July 14, the student pilot reported that she was practicing touch-and-go landings, and that she had completed two touch-and-go landings on runway 03. She said that during the second landing, she inadvertently touched down farther down the runway than anticipated, so she elected to perform a full stop landing, taxi back to the end of the runway, and utilize the full length of the 3,700 feet long, paved runway. She said that during the takeoff roll, about midway down the runway, she felt that the airplane was not going to fly as the airspeed exceeded 70 knots, so she closed the throttle, and applied heavy braking. The airplane veered slightly to the right, continued off the end of the runway, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and engine firewall. The airplane was retrieved from the accident site and transported to the parking area.

On July 17, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector from the Anchorage Flight Standards District Office, traveled to the accident airport and examined the airplane. He reported that he was unable to detect any preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Aircraft

Registration
N78254
Reported as
Cessna 172K
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17257547
Engine
Lycoming O-320, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Registered owner
Elizabeth A. Hanson
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
Z16 · Wasilla, AK
Destination
Z16 · Wasilla, AK
Airport
Z16 · Wasilla, runway 03, 3,700 × 75 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
59
Injuries
None
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Flight hours
100 total · 83 in this make and model · 8 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Visibility
50 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Other investigations on N78254 · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.