Cessna 172S N975SP

Summary

On 6 June 2003 at about 18:41 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N975SP was involved in an accident near Sidnaw, Michigan, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 June 2003 at 18:41

Classification

Accident

Location

Sidnaw, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Prickett Grooms Field (6Y9)

Coordinates

46.5014, -88.7000

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N975SP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Manitowoc → Sidnaw

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI03FA149

1 person died.

The improper short/soft field landing procedure by the pilot and his lack of recent experience in type of operation. Contributing factors were the short/soft field runway, the trees and his delay in aborting the takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The rental airplane impacted trees during initial climb from an aborted landing on runway 28, which was a 2,000 foot long grass airstrip. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed with winds from the south reported by the closest weather reporting station. The passenger stated that the airplane touched down about half down the runway, went back up in the air, and touched down a second time before taking off again. The airplane then impacted trees west of the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The private pilot accumulated a total flight time of 141.2 hours over a period of about ten years, of which 5.5 hours were in the past 90 days and 2.3 hours were in the past 30 days from the accident date. According to the pilot's certified flight instructor, the pilot last received flight instruction on a grass airstrip during the pilot's student pilot training. He said that the pilot had very little experience on grass airstrips since receiving his private pilot certificate based upon what he could remember. The pilot's last airman medical certificate was expired at the time of the accident. A Federal Aviation Administration safety publication, which provides guidance to pilots in their planning of takeoffs and landings, states: always plan touchdown 200 feet inside of runway threshold, abort takeoff if not solidly "airborne" in first 1/2 of runway, and abort landing if not solidly "on" in first 1/3 of runway (first 1/4 if wet grass).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.