- Date
- December 30, 1993, 12:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- El Monte, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N7553ECessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19931230047449A
- Case key
- 28631
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 delayed decision to abort the takeoff and improper use of the airplane's throttle.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot aborted takeoff during a touch-and-go maneuver and overran the runway at the departure end. Witnesses heard the engine accelerate during the abort attempt. The pilot applied the brakes before retarding the throttle. The airplane lost traction when the braking action could not overcome the engine power which extended the landing roll.
Factual narrative
On December 30, 1993, at 1230 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N7553E, collided with the airport perimeter fence and a tree after experiencing an on-round loss of control during an aborted takeoff from runway 19 at the El Monte Airport, El Monte, California. The certificated private pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings at the time. The airplane, operated by Aero Association of CalTech, Inc., Pasadena, California, was substantially damaged. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The winds were reported calm.
The pilot indicated that he had landed, configured the airplane for takeoff while rolling, and added full power. The pilot stated the airplane's acceleration appeared slow and did not reach the fifty-seven (57) knots rotation speed as anticipated. The pilot decided to abort the takeoff at a predetermined GO/NO-GO point located about 1,000 feet from the runway's departure end.
When the pilot applied the airplane's brakes, the airplane swerved to the left and entered a newly resurfaced taxiway. The airplane slid off the taxiway's left shoulder adjacent to the runway's departure end and struck the fence and tree.
According to the pilot, the left main landing gear tire left solid skid marks on the runway and the right main landing gear tire left intermittent skid marks.
Witnesses told National Transportation Safety Board investigators they heard the airplane accelerating after hearing the tires begin to squeal during brake application. The witnesses also said the pilot did not fully close the throttle until the airplane was about 150 feet from the departure end of runway 19.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7553E
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172 272106
- Airframe hours
- 3,713
- Engine
- Continental O-360-A4M, 180 lbs thrust, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Aero Assn Of Caltech, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Mc Andrew, William
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 4, 1993 · 41 hours before
- Departed
- EMT
- Destination
- EMT
- Airport
- EMT · El Monte, runway 19, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 96 total · 3 in this make and model · 35 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EM, 1 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.