- Date
- July 31, 2021, 18:18 local (22:18 UTC)
- Place
- Martinsburg, WV
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N805CPCessna 172
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Dragged wing/rotor/float/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20210731022589I
- Case key
- 103609
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 flight instructor’s loss of directional control after an aerodynamic stall at takeoff.
Findings · 2
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 flight instructor was demonstrating a soft field takeoff maneuver with 10° of flaps. After lift-off, the airplane “suddenly” and immediately yawed to its left. Both the angle of attack indicator and the stall warning horn provided audible alerts as the pitch attitude exceeded 10° on the primary flight display. The airplane rolled left, right, and left again before it touched down, transitioned a grass area, and came to rest upright on a taxiway. The pilots egressed the airplane unhurt and discovered substantial damage to the left wing. The flight crew reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the performance and handling of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N805CP
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (S)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S12625
- Built
- 2021
- Airframe hours
- 141.5
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Civil Air Patrol Inc
- Registered owner
- Civil Air Patrol Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 29, 2021 · 59.3 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- MRB · Eastern Wv Rgnl/Shepherd Fld, runway 08/26, 8,815 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Handheld GPS, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Data recorder
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 812 total · 686 in this make and model · 657 as pilot in command · 152 in the last 90 days · 69 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 18
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 42 total · 38 in this make and model · 2 as pilot in command · 42 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KMRB
- METAR
- KMRB 312053Z AUTO 10004KT 10SM CLR 27/12 A2993 RMK AO2 SLP131 T02670122 57016
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 29, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 MB 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.