Cessna 172M N13145

Summary

On 2 May 2000 at about 15:50 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N13145, operated by Cornell Aero Works, was involved in an accident near Cornell, Wisconsin, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 May 2000 at 15:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Cornell, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Cornell Municipal Airport (4T5)

Coordinates

45.1597, -91.1507

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N13145

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Cornell Aero Works

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI00FA129

3 people died.

the pilot not maintaining aircraft control and the stall/spin he encountered. A factor was the extended flaps.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was destroyed by impact with terrain and by fire following a loss of control during climbout. The pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries. A witness stated, 'I observed him taxi and the next I observed was the takeoff. I observed some flaps that seemed to be a short field takeoff. It appeared to not gain the normal altitude. He seemed to be in a climb attitude (not steep) and the flaps remained on. My estimate is aprox. 1 mile before he made his left turn.' He further stated, 'He made the normal pattern for downwind and was still in a climb attitude but not gaining altitude and the flaps appeared to be on. I observed downwind and he seemed to still not gain altitude and appeared to be about 1 1/2 tree lengths above the trees. My line of vision was then obscured by a tree and I heard the crash. I can not remember if the engine was running at the time of impact. It was through the rest. (During the initial climb and takeoff [the airplane operator] ran into the Unicom and called for [the pilot] to raise the flaps. No response. The flaps I believe never went up.)' Another witness stated, 'Crashed/looked as if stalled then nose down and left. Airplane sounded at full power still at or till sound of crash.' The airplane was found impacting terrain approximately 80 degrees pitch down. An on-scene investigation revealed flight control and engine continuity and the engine exhibited a thumb compression at all cylinders. The flap jackscrew was recovered and exhibited 5.9 inches of thread extension which indicated 40 degrees of flap extension.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.