# NTSB ATL02LA168: Cessna 172P, N62602, Mocksville, NC, September 10, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 10, 2002, 11:45 local (15:45 UTC) - Place: Mocksville, NC - Coordinates: 35.9025, -80.461387 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9025&lon=-80.4614&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 2 serious - Status: Completed, report February 5, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Greensboro FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 55679 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL02LA168 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55679/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=55679 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02LA168 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the takeoff and initial climb which resulted in an inadvertent stall and the subsequent collision with trees. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, takeoff - initial climb - airspeed - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - stall - inadvertent, pilot in command - In flight collision with object, descent - uncontrolled - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The pilot was conducting touch and go landings when on the accident landing, the airplane touched down about two-third down the runway. On the go phase of the touch and go maneuver, the pilot established a nose high attitude followed by a right descending roll followed by the subsequent collision with trees. The airplane rested on the ground in a nose low attitude. No mechanical problems were reported by the pilot prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative On September 10, 2002, at 1145 eastern daylight time a Cessna 172P, N62602, registered to Civil Air Patrol Inc., and operated by a private pilot, collided with the ground shortly after takeoff from a touch and go landing on runway 9, at the Mocksville Twin Lakes Airport in Mocksville, North Carolina. The flight was operated under the provision of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot and pilot rated passenger received serious injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Mocksville Sugar Valley Airport, Mocksville, North Carolina at 1100. According to the pilot, he was conducting touch and go landings. Witnesses in various locations, saw the airplane touch down and lift off about two thirds down runway 9. One witness was a pilot in the traffic pattern for runway 9. He recalled the pilot of the mishap airplane mentioning they were performing a simulated engine-out maneuver. Another witness described the airplane as rolling for a while, after which the nose went up abruptly. Witnesses observed the airplane in a nose high attitude below the tree line during the climb out. During climb the airplane clipped trees at the departure end of runway 9. The airplane was next seen in a nose high right turn and disappeared into the tree line. Subsequently the airplane collided with the terrain. Examination of the engine's logbooks revealed that the engine was overhauled by Lycoming on 10/23/2001. The airplane underwent an annual inspection on 8/16/2002. On September 11, 2002 the engine was examined by Lycoming personnel with an NTSB representative present. The examination revealed that the lower front of the engine had sustained impact damage. The rear section of the engine was damaged from compression against the firewall. Examination of the engine revealed no preimpact anomalies. Examination of the wreckage found the airplane in about a 70 degree nose down attitude on a heading of 045 degrees magnetic. The empennage was suspended in the air, and resting against a tree. One of the propeller blades were bent aft following the contour of the cowling. The other blade had chord wise scratches and a bent tip. Freshly cut tree branches were found at the accident site. The leading edge of the left wing was buckled and the outboard portion of the left wing tip was curled upward. The wing tip and the leading edge of the right wing had crush damage. The left yoke assembly was severed from the control column, and the main cabin area of the fuselage was buckled. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N62602](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N62602-2011-10-28), registration cancelled 2011-10-28, S/N 17275308, built 1981 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172P - Registry model: [Cessna 172P](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (registry code 2072436) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17275179 - Airframe hours: 4691.1 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A4M 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Benjamin N. Blankenship - Registered owner: Civil Air Patrol - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 16, 2002, 227.3 hours before - Departed: 8A7, Mocksville, NC - Destination: 8A7, Mocksville, NC - Airport: 8A7, Twin Lakes Airport, runway 9, 2,943 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 68; injuries: serious; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review April 21, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 519 total, 252 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 0° at 0 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 61 °F - Altimeter: 28.72 inHg - Observed at: INT, 10 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020910026729A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020910026729A), Sep 10, 2002: Cessna 172P, Mocksville, NC, Destroyed. (-23) Benjamin n. blankenship of the civil air patrol (cap) was receiving a "form 5 checkride" from david gamble (CFI) of the (cap) on September 10, 2002.… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 9, 2003, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=55679. 324 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 263 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40455966&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Witness Statements (item 2, .PDF, 61 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40455967&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Witness%20Statements-Redacted.PDF 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. --- 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.