- Date
- July 16, 2008, 11:04 local (15:04 UTC)
- Place
- Williamstown, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N739UGCessna 172 N
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20080716841179A
- Case key
- 68454
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 student pilot's inability to maintain directional control during the attempted aborted landing. Contributing to the severity of the accident were the trees.
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 student pilot of the Cessna 172N departed his home airport for a short solo flight to another airport, where he made an uneventful full-stop landing, before returning to his home airport. The student pilot reported that while attempting to land on runway 27, the airplane was "blowing around quite a bit." During the landing attempt, the airplane bounced twice, and the pilot decided to perform a go-around. He applied power, and attempted to maintain 70 knots as he began the climbout; however, the airplane veered left, and "would not climb." The student pilot aborted the takeoff, and the airplane subsequently struck trees adjacent to a taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its wings and cabin structure during the collision. According to the student pilot's certificated flight instructor (CFI), the winds at the time of the accident were no more than 5 knots, but the windsock was "dancing." The CFI added that the winds were favoring runway 27, but might have switched to favor runway 9 at the time of the accident. The recorded conditions about the time of the accident, at an airport 13 miles northwest of the accident location, were winds from 020 degrees at 8 knots, and a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius. The pilot had accumulated approximately 15 total hours of flight experience, 3 hours of which were conducted solo. The student pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
The student pilot of the Cessna 172N departed his home airport for a short solo flight to another airport, where he made an uneventful full-stop landing, before returning to his home airport. The student pilot reported that while attempting to land on runway 27, the airplane was "blowing around quite a bit." During the landing attempt, the airplane bounced twice, and the pilot decided to perform a go-around. He applied power, and attempted to maintain 70 knots as he began the climbout; however, the airplane veered left, and "would not climb." The student pilot aborted the takeoff, and the airplane subsequently struck trees adjacent to a taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its wings and cabin structure during the collision. According to the student pilot's certificated flight instructor (CFI), the winds at the time of the accident were no more than 5 knots, but the windsock was "dancing." The CFI added that the winds were favoring runway 27, but might have switched to favor runway 9 at the time of the accident. The recorded conditions about the time of the accident, at an airport 13 miles northwest of the accident location, were winds from 020 degrees at 8 knots, and a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius. The pilot had accumulated approximately 15 total hours of flight experience, 3 hours of which were conducted solo. The student pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N739UG
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17270812
- Airframe hours
- 4,946.1
- Engine
- Lycoming O360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 1, 2008
- Departed
- N81 · Hamington, NJ
- Destination
- 17N · Williamstown, NJ
- Airport
- 17N · Cross Keys Airport, runway 27, 3,500 × 50 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 15 total · 15 in this make and model · 3 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- PHL, 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.