# NTSB NYC08CA191: Cessna 172M, N74WC, Chuckey, TN, May 22, 2008

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report
- Date: May 22, 2008, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place: Chuckey, TN
- Coordinates: 36.176109, -82.673332
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.1761&lon=-82.6733&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Takeoff: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230)
- Highest injury: Minor injuries
- Injuries: 1 minor
- Status: Completed, report July 30, 2008
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Parties: FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 68070
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC08CA191
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/68070/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08CA191

## Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll. Contributing to the accident was his failure to abort the takeoff.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Action: lack of action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172M, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030/cases.md?model=2072418), [All aircraft, 792 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041030/cases.md)
- [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172M, 59 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=2072418), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md)
- [Object/animal/substance: tree(s)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022020): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Not specified; cases with it: [Cessna 172M, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022020/cases.md?model=2072418), [All aircraft, 933 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022020/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Takeoff: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172M, 61 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=2072418), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md)
- [Takeoff: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 172M, 100 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2072418), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot of a Cessna 172M said that the preflight, runup, and initial takeoff roll on runway 1 "were normal." During the takeoff roll, the airplane veered left onto the grass, and the pilot's efforts to direct the airplane back onto the runway were "unsuccessful." The airplane crossed a taxiway perpendicular to the runway, and became airborne. It continued to drift left, and the left wing struck a tree at a point approximately 25 feet above the ground. The airplane then descended and impacted the ground. It came to rest upright, on a heading of approximately 245 degrees, in the grass on the west side of the runway. The pilot exited through his door, and tried unsuccessfully to put out a fire in the engine compartment, using the airplane's hand held fire extinguisher. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and engine compartment. Runway 1 was dry asphalt, and measured 3,000 feet long and 50 feet wide. The pilot reported the winds as "light and variable." The reported wind at an airport located approximately 22 miles northeast of the accident location, about the time of the accident, was winds from 280 degrees at 7 knots, direction variable from 260 to 330 degrees.

## Factual narrative

The pilot of a Cessna 172M said that the preflight, runup, and initial takeoff roll on runway 1 "were normal." During the takeoff roll, the airplane veered left onto the grass, and the pilot's efforts to direct the airplane back onto the runway were "unsuccessful." The airplane crossed a taxiway perpendicular to the runway, and became airborne. It continued to drift left, and the left wing struck a tree at a point approximately 25 feet above the ground. The airplane then descended and impacted the ground. It came to rest upright, on a heading of approximately 245 degrees, in the grass on the west side of the runway. The pilot exited through his door, and tried unsuccessfully to put out a fire in the engine compartment, using the airplane's hand held fire extinguisher. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and engine compartment. Runway 1 was dry asphalt, and measured 3,000 feet long and 50 feet wide. The pilot reported the winds as "light and variable." The reported wind at an airport located approximately 22 miles northeast of the accident location, about the time of the accident, was winds from 280 degrees at 7 knots, direction variable from 260 to 330 degrees.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N74WC](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N74WC-2011-06-08), registration cancelled 2011-06-08, S/N 17262555, built 1973 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Cessna 172M
- Registry model: [Cessna 172M](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172m) (registry code 2072418) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 17262555
- Airframe hours: 3112
- Engines: Lycoming O-320-E2D 150 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Fire: On-Ground
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: Eugene H. Haskins
- Registered owner: Skycrafters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, October 1, 2007, 180 hours before
- Departed: 04TN, Chuckey, TN
- Destination: TRI, Blounitville, TN
- Airport: 04TN, Hensley Airpark, runway 01, 3,000 × 50 ft, asphalt

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 75; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review September 1, 2006; seat: left; flight hours: 212 total, 212 in this make and model, 83 as pilot in command, 7 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: variable at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observed at: TRI, 22 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 20080522836069A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080522836069A), May 22, 2008: Cessna 172M, Chuckey, TN, Substantial damage. (-23) On takeoff from Hensley Airpark (private airfield), a paved 3000 foot runway in Chuckey, Tennessee and with a crosswind of 9 to 11 knots reported, pilot…

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.

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