Cessna 172P N54285

Summary

On 20 June 2016 at about 18:45 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N54285 was involved in an accident near Honesdale, Pennsylvania, United States. 3 people were 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

20 June 2016 at 18:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Honesdale, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Cherry Ridge (N30)

Coordinates

41.5094, -75.2508

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N54285

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Honesdale → Morristown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA224

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while departing in a heavily loaded airplane at high density altitude, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall, landing hard, and overrunning the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that the airplane was loaded near its maximum allowable gross weight before departure from the airport. The calculated density altitude was 3,297 ft mean sea level. The pilot stated that, after becoming airborne and climbing to 30 to 40 ft above ground level (agl), he "felt that the airplane was not climbing." The pilot subsequently closed the throttle and attempted to land on the remaining runway. A review of surveillance video showed the wings of the airplane rocking immediately after liftoff at the mid-point of the runway, which was about 3,000 ft long. The video showed that the airplane's pitch attitude increased, but the airplane never climbed more than about 15 ft agl before it fell hard to the runway on all three landing gear, consistent with an aerodynamic stall. The airplane bounced several times, settled onto the runway with about 500 ft remaining, then overran the right side of the runway at the departure end. Performance data from the pilot's operating handbook indicated that, given the conditions present at the time of the accident, the airplane's landing distance was about 610 ft. Postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the airplane's wings; there was no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies of the airframe or engine. A postaccident engine run also revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.