# NTSB IAD00LA022: Cessna 172, N5679R, Norridgewock, ME, February 13, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 13, 2000, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Norridgewock, ME - Location: 44.7155° N, 69.8665° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CENTRAL MAINE/NORRIDGEWOCK (OWK), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.7155&lon=-69.8665&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 8, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 48659 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD00LA022 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/48659/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD00LA022 ## Probable cause the student pilot's loss of directional control during the takeoff roll. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water collision with object, takeoff - roll/run - terrain condition - snowbank - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - icy ## Analysis The student pilot said he flew with his instructor approximately 1 hour before departing on his solo flight. During the flight, the student pilot performed several takeoffs and landings to include both touch-and-go and full stop. At the completion of the training flight, the airplane was serviced with fuel and another pre-flight inspection was completed. The student pilot said his instructor provided a complete briefing, and he departed on his solo flight. During the takeoff roll, the airplane yawed to the left, overan a patch of ice, yawed further left and struck a snowbank. Both the student pilot and the instructor reported there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On February 13, 2000, at 1600 Eastern Standard Time, a Cessna 172, N5679R, was substantially damaged from collision with terrain and a snowbank during the takeoff roll from runway 21 at the Central Maine Airport (OWK), Norridgewock, Maine. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the solo instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. In a telephone interview, the student pilot said he flew with his instructor approximately 1 hour before departing on his solo flight. During the flight, the student pilot performed several takeoffs and landings to include both touch-and-go and full stop. He said his instructor simulated several emergencies and that he performed landings power off, and with only partial instrument panel available for his use. The student pilot said that at the completion of the training flight, the airplane was serviced with fuel and another pre-flight inspection was completed. He said his instructor asked if he felt comfortable flying the airplane himself. The student pilot said his instructor provided a complete briefing, and he departed on his solo flight. According to the student pilot: "I knew the aircraft would feel different without [the instructor] in it. The airspeed came up quickly and the aircraft pulled to the left. It yawed. It hit a bad patch of tar and it wasn't up to speed and it pulled to the left. I hit a patch of ice, the aircraft yawed to the left, departed the runway, and struck a snowbank. The aircraft yawed left, pitched right, and then came back on all three gear pointed at the snowbank." In a telephone interview, the flight instructor's description of the dual instructional flight was consistent with his student's. For the solo flight, he said he watched the student pilot's takeoff from a terminal building approximately 150 yards from the departure runway. The instructor said his view of the takeoff roll was obstructed intermittently by buildings or snow banks. He said: "At the beginning of the takeoff roll, I could not see him, but I could hear him. He got to the [runway] intersection and when he crossed the intersection, I could see something was wrong because the wings rocked. He was about where he should rotate. The next time I saw him, he went straight into the snowbank and the plane flipped up and over onto it's back." Both the student pilot and the flight instructor said the runways at OWK were covered with patches of ice. The flight instructor estimated the ice covered 40 to 50 percent of the runway surface. Both the student pilot and the flight instructor reported there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane. The student pilot reported 11.5 hours of flight experience, all of which was in the Cessna 172. Winds reported at Waterville, Maine, 14 miles southeast of Norridgewock were from 170 degrees at 6 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5679R](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5679R), registered now, S/N 17253319 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172 - Registry model: [Cessna 172F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172f) (registry code 2072414) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17253319 - Airframe hours: 3090 - Engines: Lycoming O-300 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Kenneth J. Morgan - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 24, 1999, 89 hours before - Departed: 0WK - Airport: OWK, Central Maine Airport, runway 21, 4,000 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 45; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 11 total, 11 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days, 9 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 170° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 30 °F, dew point 7 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: WVL, 13 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 20000213011489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000213011489A), Feb 13, 2000: Cessna 172F, Norridgewock, ME, Substantial damage. (-23) Student pilot on his first solo take-off departed runway 21 at the central Maine regional airport. At or about the rotation speed of between 60 or 70… 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.