# NTSB CHI01LA036: Cessna 172H, N1706F, Kalkaska, MI, November 15, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 15, 2000, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Kalkaska, MI - Coordinates: 44.729492, -85.170326 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.7295&lon=-85.1703&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report October 23, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 50640 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI01LA036 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/50640/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA036 ## Probable cause The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control on the ground. Factors relating to this accident were the student pilot's improper abort procedures, the sign, and the ditch. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, takeoff - aborted - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - aborted takeoff - improper, pilot in command (contributing factor) - On ground/water collision with object, takeoff - aborted - object - sign (contributing factor) - Nose over, takeoff - aborted - terrain condition - ditch (contributing factor) ## Analysis The student pilot said that right after liftoff he noticed his airspeed was "falling." He said that he looked at his tachometer and saw that it "was running at 2,500 rpm's." The student pilot leveled off but saw his airspeed continue to drop. He also noted that his tachometer read 2,100 rpm's. The student pilot put the airplane back down on the runway. The airplane went off the left side of the runway, struck a runway light, continued through a field, struck a road sign, and continued through another field until reaching a ditch, on which the airplane nosed over. The student pilot said that when the airplane hit the sign, he "lost rudder control and pulled power." An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies. ## Factual narrative On November 15, 2000, at 1500 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172H, operated by a student pilot, sustained substantial damage during an aborted takeoff when it departed the left edge of runway 10 (3,800 feet by 150 feet, dry asphalt) at Kalkaska Airport (Y89), Kalkaska, Michigan, struck a runway light, a sign, and a ditch, and nosed at the edge of a wooded area. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The student pilot sustained minor injuries. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident. In his written statement, the student pilot said that right after liftoff he noticed his airspeed was "falling." He said that he looked at his tachometer and saw that it "was running at 2,500 rpm's. I leveled off to build airspeed, scanned my gauges. [The] Airspeed indicator [was] still falling. Tach[ometer indication] fell below 2,100 rpm's. I put [the] plane back on the ground, hit [a] runway lite (light) and a[n] end marker. Hit fence post with [the] tail section, lost rudder control, [and] pulled power." The student pilot said that the airplane slid across a cleared area until the nose fell into a ditch where the airplane flipped over. Federal Aviation Administration inspectors examined the airplane at the accident site. The airplane was resting inverted at the edge of a wooded area, approximately 1,160 feet from the departure end of runway 10. Two sets of tire tracks were observed in the snow beginning at approximately 400 feet prior to the departure end of runway 10. The tire marks proceeded off the left edge of the runway, across the field paralleling the runway, crossed the edge of the asphalt turn-out for runway 28, and proceeded eastward to a north-south running perimeter road, approximately 440 feet off the departure end of runway 10. Three sets of tire marks were observed beginning at the east side of the road and continuing across a field to the airplane. A portion of the airplane's left horizontal stabilizer and the left elevator rested on the road. A sign on the west edge of the road was bent over and twisted. The airplane's nose gear was broken aft. The bottom of the engine cowling and the bottom forward fuselage were crushed upward. The propeller showed torsional bending, chordwise scratching, and tip curling. The airplane's left wing was bent downward beginning at the root. The left wing strut was bent inward at mid-span. The airplane's right wing showed bends and skin wrinkles. The airplane's aft fuselage skin was bent and wrinkled. The remaining outboard portion of the airplane's left horizontal stabilizer was broken aft. Flight control continuity was confirmed. A post-accident examination of the airplane's engine and engine controls revealed no anomalies. A Safety Board examination of the airplane's airspeed indicator was conducted on February 21, 2001, at Chicago, Illinois. The examination revealed no anomalies with the airspeed indicator. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1706F](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1706F-2018-02-01), registration cancelled 2018-02-01, S/N 17255101, built 1966 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172H - Registry model: [Cessna 172H](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172h) (registry code 2072424) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 172-55101 - Airframe hours: 1328 - Engines: Continental O-300-D 165 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Kodiak Flying Club, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 27, 2000, 4 hours before - Departed: Y89 - Airport: Y89, Kalkaska Airport, runway 10, 3,800 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 42; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 74 total, 74 in this make and model, 4 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 190° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 25,000 ft broken - Temperature: 99 °F, dew point 82 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: TVC, 16 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 20001115018209A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001115018209A), Nov 15, 2000: Cessna 172H, Kalkaska, MI, No damage. (-23) Pilot stated airspeed indicator did not respond on initial t/o roll. He continued t/o and airspeed (a/s) responded. After t/o he noted the a/s began to… ## Other investigations on N1706F (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 GAA17CA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA036), Oct 20, 2016: Cessna 172 (N1706F), Carrabassett, ME, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees while maneuvering at a low altitude. 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.