Cessna 172 N20921

Summary

On 3 October 2008 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N20921, operated by Onawa LLC, was involved in an accident near Naples, Maine, 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

3 October 2008 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Naples, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Brandy Pond SPB (5ME)

Coordinates

43.9528, -70.6317

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N20921

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Onawa LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brandy Pond SPB → Dexter

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09CA010

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the wet condition of the grass runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After removing the floats from the Cessna 172M, the pilot taxied from the north end of the grass runway to the south end, to conduct a brake test confirming the brakes were operational. He then back-taxied the airplane to the north end of the approximate 1,200-foot-long, 75-foot-wide runway. During the taxi, the pilot noticed the grass runway was wet and rougher than expected and conducted a high-speed taxi test prior to takeoff to determine handling capability. The pilot conducted a short-field takeoff and the airplane accelerated normally. As the airplane crossed over a high spot, created by a culvert under the runway, the airplane began sliding on the grass towards the left side of the runway. The pilot applied more right aileron, then rudder, and then some right brake. At this point, the pilot decided to abort the takeoff. He brought the throttle to idle, applied the brakes, and shut off the magnetos. As the airplane slowed, the left wing contacted a tree, which pivoted the nose of the airplane into brush as it came to a stop approximately 600 feet beyond the north end of the runway. The left wing sustained substantial damage upon impact with the tree.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.