Cessna 172F N5551R

Summary

On 5 May 2012 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 172F registered N5551R, operated by Cambridge Valley Flying Club Inc, was involved in an accident near Cambridge, New York, United States. 3 people were 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

5 May 2012 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Cambridge, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Chapin Field (1B8)

Coordinates

43.0525, -73.3631

Aircraft

Cessna 172F

Registration

N5551R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Cambridge Valley Flying Club Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cambridge → Cambridge

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12CA320

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s loss of airplane control during a takeoff in variable crosswind conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot completed one takeoff and landing to a full stop on the 2,100-foot-long turf runway to observe the wind and "refresh" himself with the operation of the airplane. Two passengers then boarded the airplane for a local flight. The pilot taxied the airplane back to the runway and prepared to take off using a short-field takeoff technique. The airplane lifted off the runway after a takeoff roll of about 900 feet, and the pilot “crabbed” the airplane slightly right into the crosswind to track along the runway. About 30 feet above the runway, he leveled the airplane to “pick up speed” and tried to track the runway centerline. However, the airplane's nose landing gear impacted the ground and the airplane came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, and the empennage. Witnesses reported to the pilot that the airplane's tail lifted when the wind changed to a quartering tailwind during the takeoff, just before the nose landing gear impacted the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.