- Date
- May 11, 2019, 17:38 local (22:38 UTC)
- Place
- Dexter, MI
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N21794Cessna 172
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 25, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190511024679A
- Case key
- 99417
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 airplane's failure to maintain a climb for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
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 pilot reported that he configured the airplane with 10º of flaps during a soft-field takeoff with a takeoff run of about 600 ft. After the initial climb and while the airplane was about 75 knots, he retracted the flaps, trimmed the airplane for normal climb, and verified full engine power. About 100 ft above ground level and about two-thirds down the runway, the airplane started to decelerate to about 65 knots. He stated that he leveled the airplane and did not hear the stall warning horn activate or notice if the engine rpm had decreased or stopped producing power, just that the airplane was losing airspeed and that he had no idea what caused it. The pilot verified that the throttle was full open, the mixture was full rich, the carburetor heat was off, and the elevators were in the neutral position, but the airplane continued to decelerate and rapidly descend. In an attempt to level the airplane, he smoothly pulled the yoke aft, but the airplane did not pitch up. The nosewheel impacted the ground, and the airplane nosed over. The tail cone and both wings sustained substantial damage. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that a postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of any mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The airline transport pilot reported that he configured the airplane with 10º of flaps during a soft field takeoff with a takeoff run of about 600 ft. After the initial climb, about 75 knots, he retracted the flaps, trimmed the aircraft for normal climb, and verified full engine power. About 100 ft above the ground and about two-thirds down the runway, the airplane started to decelerate to about 65 knots. He leveled the airplane and did not hear the stall warning horn activate nor recalled if the engine RPMs decreased or if the engine failed producing power. The airplane continued to decelerate and rapidly descended even when the pilot verified that the throttle was full open, the mixture full rich, the carburetor heat off, and the elevators at neutral position. Before impact, in an attempt to level the airplane, he smoothly pulled the yoke aft, but the airplane did not pitch up. The nosewheel impacted the ground and the airplane nosed over. The tailcone and both wings were substantially damaged. A post examination of the airplane by the Federal Aviation Administration inspector, engine and airframe continuity were confirmed. The inspector further reported that the s-bend damage to the propeller was consistent with the engine producing power. The inspector added that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N21794
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (M)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17264023
- Built
- 1975
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Solo Aviation
- Registered owner
- Repholz Charles
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Departed
- ARB · Ann Arbor, MI
- Destination
- 2E8 · Dexter, MI
- Airport
- 2E8 · Cackleberry, runway 06, 2,113 × 100 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 45
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Private, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 5, 2018
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,660 total · 110 in this make and model · 1,976 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KARB, 13 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 9, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.5 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.