Cessna 172S N523ND

Summary

On 13 September 2009 at about 03:30 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N523ND, operated by University of North Dakota, was involved in an accident near Park Rapids, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 September 2009 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Park Rapids, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Park Rapids Municipal (PKD)

Coordinates

46.9006, -95.0731

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N523ND

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

University of North Dakota

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Park Rapids → Grand Forks

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN09LA579

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper climb rate during a night takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot performed a go-around on the first attempted landing at the airport during night visual meteorological conditions. On the second attempt, he landed about mid-field and performed a stop and go landing. He initiated the takeoff using 10-degrees of flaps. The pilot reported that when he reached about 100 feet above ground level, he retracted the flaps. He felt that the airspeed was a little low (70 knots IAS) so he pushed the nose over. He stated that he did not think he was in a descent, but the airplane hit the ground about 100 feet from the end of the runway. The nose gear collapsed and both wings were damaged as the airplane bounced and skidded to a stop. The examination of the accident site revealed eight ground scars in the grass which were consistent with propeller strikes. The propeller blades exhibited leading edge nicks and gouges, chordwise scratching, and blade twist. The inspection of the airplane’s flight controls revealed no preexisting anomalies. The pilot reported that he had 112 hours of flight time with 112 hours in make and model. He had flown 9 hours at night which included 2 hours of night experience when he was pilot-in-command.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.