Cessna 172S N5343U

Summary

On 29 September 2005 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N5343U, operated by Ron Sprague, was involved in an accident near Batesville, Texas, 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

29 September 2005 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Batesville, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.0242, -99.5269

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N5343U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Ron Sprague

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Batesville → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW05CA253

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the tree. A contributing factor was the gusty winds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 2,779-hour private pilot performed a short/soft field takeoff from a dirt road that was oriented in a northeasterly direction. About 15 feet above ground level (agl) the single-engine airplane drifted to the right side of the road and the outer 12 inches of the right wing came into contact with branches from a mature mesquite tree. As the airplane yawed and banked to the right, the pilot responded by applying full left aileron and rudder to no avail. Shortly thereafter the airplane impacted terrain and came to rest in an upright position. The pilot and sole passenger were able to egress the airplane unassisted. There was no post-impact fire. The wind was reported from approximately 60 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 15 knots. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.