- Date
- March 15, 2010, 14:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- Waupaca, WI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N1472UCessna 172M
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 1, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100315029479A
- Case key
- 75496
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control while taking off in gusting winds.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The student pilot reported that he rotated about 60 knots to a nose-up attitude during takeoff. He said that the left wing raised “abruptly” due to a wind gust and that he overcorrected with left aileron and “set the plane back down on the runway.” The airplane was then heading for the edge of the runway and the pilot reduced the airplane throttle. The airplane exited the runway, including its safety area, and nosed over in a plowed field. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane prior to the accident flight.
Factual narrative
The student pilot reported that he rotated about 60 knots to a nose up attitude during takeoff. He said that the left wing raised “abruptly” due to a wind gust. He stated that he over corrected with left aileron and “set the plane back down on the runway.” The airplane was then heading for the edge of the runway and the pilot reduced the airplane throttle. The airplane exited the runway, its safety area, and nosed over in a plowed field. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane reference the accident flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1472U
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17267139
- Airframe hours
- 7,762.4
- Engine
- Lycoming 0-320 E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Riverside Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Riverside Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 18, 2009
- Departed
- PCZ · Waupaca, WI
- Destination
- PCZ · Waupaca, WI
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- PCZ · Waupaca Municipal Airport, runway 10, 5,200 × 100 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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 31 total · 31 in this make and model · 7 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- PCZ, 1 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 26, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 743 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.