Cessna 172E N3622S

Summary

On 14 March 2007 at about 17:52 local time, a Cessna 172E registered N3622S was involved in an accident near Big Rapids, Michigan, 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

14 March 2007 at 17:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Big Rapids, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

43.7225, -85.5042

Aircraft

Cessna 172E

Registration

N3622S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Big Rapids → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07CA090

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during takeoff which led to the impact with the snow banks adjacent to the runway. The snow banks were contributing factors in the accident.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane struck snowbanks on the left side of the runway (2,700 feet by 75 feet), after liftoff and then nosed over. The student pilot reported that on a previous flight with his instructor, they had practiced soft field takeoffs. The student reported that on this solo flight he decided to perform a soft field takeoff. He stated that during the takeoff, the nose of the airplane came up as expected. He stated that because of the limited view over the nose of the airplane, he did not realize that the airplane was drifting toward the left. He stated that once the airplane became airborne, he could see that it was heading toward the snow banks adjacent to the runway. He attempted to avoid the snow banks, but the left main landing gear hit the top of a snow bank, then the right main landing gear struck a snow bank and the airplane settled toward the ground. The airplane subsequently hit another snow bank and nosed over. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.