Cessna 172N N75901

Summary

On 9 July 1993 at about 20:25 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N75901, operated by Executive Flyers, Inc., was involved in an accident near Alturus, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 July 1993 at 20:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Alturus, California, United States

Nearest airport

Alturus Municipal (O00)

Coordinates

41.4305, -120.5294

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N75901

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Executive Flyers, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Sacramento

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX93LA284

Nobody was injured.

THE PILOT'S DELAY IN ABORTING THE TAKEOFF. THE PILOT'S PREMATURE ROTATION AND HIS FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES IN THE AIRPLANE FLIGHT MANUAL REGARDING USE OF THE MIXTURE CONTROL, THE HIGH DENSITY ALTITUDE CONDITION AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF TOTAL FLIGHT EXPEREINCE WERE FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said he was departing the Alturus municipal airport, which has an elevation of 4,375 feet MSL. The official weather observation for the airport reported a temperature of 83 degrees 20 minutes after the accident, for a computed density altitude of 7,100 feet. The pilot noted that the engine ran smoothly during the takeoff ground roll, but did not seem to reach full RPM. He said that at about 50 knots he rotated the nose of the aircraft and it climbed about 10 feet, then settled back onto the pavement. The pilot noted that he attempted several times to lift off the runway, but the aircraft would not climb off of the pavement. The pilot stated that he then aborted the takeoff, over ran the departure end of the runway and collided with a ditch and a fence. The flight manual for the aircraft states that the mixture should be leaned for takeoff at fields with elevations above 3,000 feet. The rotation speed specified in the flight manual for a normal takeoff is 55 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.