Cessna 172 N52633

Summary

On 24 March 2000 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N52633 was involved in an accident near Farmingdale, New Jersey, United States. One person was 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

24 March 2000 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Farmingdale, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Allaire Airport (BLM)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N52633

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC00LA102

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor in the accident was the pilot's use of excessive nose-down elevator trim.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After the pilot taxied onto the runway for departure, he set the elevator trim wheel 1/2 inch nose down, announced his departure, and applied full power. He reported that he 'felt nose-down pressure from the beginning of the takeoff roll.' As the airplane accelerated, the pilot 'wound off the trim' and at 55 knots, the airplane rotated. The pilot stated that immediately after takeoff, the airplane dove toward the runway. It struck the runway and bounced twice. The airplane then experienced a 'small bounce', and landed on the main gear. The pilot stated that he experienced no flight control difficulties prior to the accident, and reported that the accident could have been caused by many possibilities, including, '...a stall, excessive nose-down trim, or a relaxed yoke.' Additionally, the pilot stated his normal procedure for takeoff was to apply about 1/2 inch of nose-down trim, to 'keep the airplane on the runway.' After the accident, the elevator trim wheel was rotated without restriction, and examination of the airplane revealed no pre-impact failure of the flight controls.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.