- Date
- July 3, 1985, 21:20 local (Jul 4, 1985, 02:20 UTC)
- Place
- Valley Center, KS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N51611Cessna 172B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850703045789A
- Case key
- 33978
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 had been flying with his young son as passenger during daylight hours. He went solo to get current at night. After two full stop landings, he thought the yoke felt heavy for the trim setting he usually used but he started a takeoff anyway. Halfway down the runway he used more nose-up trim but the controls still felt heavy so he aborted the takeoff. He was unable to stop on the runway and went off the four foot high bank of dirt. Inspection revealed that the elevator trim position indicator did not indicate the actual position of the elevator trim.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51611
- Reported as
- Cessna 172B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274329
- Airframe hours
- 200
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William H. Adsit
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 23, 1984
- Airport
- 3KS5 · High Point, runway 17, 2,400 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 256 total · 143 in this make and model · 191 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F
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 N51611 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.