Cessna 172S N24485

Summary

On 11 November 2001 at about 15:51 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N24485 was involved in an accident near Sarasota, Florida, 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

11 November 2001 at 15:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Sarasota, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ)

Coordinates

27.3972, -82.5569

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N24485

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sarasota → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL02LA013

Nobody was injured.

The operators failure to ensure adequate training had been provided to the student pilot in autopilot operations, and the student pilot's failure to comply/ follow written instructions (Federal Regulations/172 Skyhawk Information Manual) pertaining to the failure of the autopilot, autopilot trim, or manual electric trim malfunction. This resulted in a reported failure of the autopilot trim to disconnect on initial takeoff for undetermined reasons, loss of aircraft control on landing (porpoise), and subsequent hard landing on the nose gear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot stated she encountered an autopilot trim failure on initial takeoff climb. She attempted to disconnected the autopilot with the autopilot disconnect red button on the control yoke with negative results. She stated she had not received any training on the autopilot system by the operator. Review of her training records supported her statement. Title 14 CFR Part 91.9 requires the pilot to comply with the operating limitations in the airplane flight manual. The airplane flight manual for the Cessna 172S requires the pilot to commit to memory the four step procedure for autopilot, autopilot trim, or electric trim malfunction. The student pilot did not comply with the written instruction in the flight manual and experienced a loss of aircraft control on landing (porpoise on runway) resulting in a hard landing on the nose gear. Examination of the autopilot before removal from the airplane and at the factory revealed no abnormalities were noted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.