Cessna 172R N77LU

Summary

On 29 October 2007 at about 15:45 local time, a Cessna 172R registered N77LU, operated by South Dakota State University, was involved in an accident near Brookings, South Dakota, 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

29 October 2007 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Brookings, South Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Brookings Regional Airport (BKX)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172R

Registration

N77LU

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

South Dakota State University

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brookings → Brookings

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI08CA029

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff roll. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's lack of solo flight experience and the runway sign.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was practicing solo touch-and-go landings at the time of the accident. After an uneventful touchdown, the pilot applied engine power for takeoff and the airplane drifted off the left side of the runway impacting a runway sign. The pilot reported being distracted by another airplane after touchdown and as a result he failed to reposition the flaps for takeoff. The airplane received substantial damage to fuselage primary structure and the right horizontal stabilizer. The student pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane. The student pilot had 40 hours of flight time, of which 8 hours were accumulated during solo flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.