- Date
- June 6, 2015, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cottonwood Falls, KS
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2536LCessna 172H
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 11, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Wichita FSDO (FAA)
- FAA report
- 20150606011229A
- Case key
- 91433
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 pilot's failure to attain adequate airspeed to climb the airplane out of ground effect, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a collision with terrain.
Findings · 4
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 pilot reported that he departed from a soft grass runway and used the entire runway length. During the takeoff roll, the airplane accelerated much slower than what he was used to in the soft grass, but still believed he would have enough airspeed to climb. After clearing a fence at the end of the runway, he reported the flight controls felt "mushy," the right wing dropped, and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall. During the stall the right wing impacted the terrain and the airplane came to rest in a field upright. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a post-accident inspection, a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector reported the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he departed from a soft grass runway and used the entire runway length. During the takeoff roll, the airplane accelerated much slower than what he was used to in the soft grass, but still believed he would have enough airspeed to climb. After clearing a fence at the end of the runway, he reported the flight controls felt "mushy," the right wing dropped, and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall. During the stall the right wing impacted the terrain and the airplane came to rest in a field upright. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a post-accident inspection, a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector reported the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2536L
- Reported as
- Cessna 172H (H)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17255736
- Built
- 1966
- Airframe hours
- 2,180.57
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-300D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 25, 2015
- Departed
- 9K0 · Cottonwood Falls, KS
- Destination
- 53K · Osage City, KS
- Airport
- 9K0 · Cottonwood Falls, runway 17, 2,300 × 155 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Handheld GPS
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
- 74
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Recreational
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 29, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 592 total · 497 in this make and model · 549 as pilot in command · 3.5 in the last 90 days · 2.2 in the last 30 days · 0.6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- KEMP, 17 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 29, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.1 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.
Other investigations on N2536L · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.