Cessna 172 N377ES

Summary

On 8 May 2018 at about 20:25 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N377ES was involved in an accident near Batavia, Ohio, 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

8 May 2018 at 20:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Batavia, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Clermont County (I69)

Coordinates

39.0803, -84.2086

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N377ES

Category

Airplane

Year built

1997

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Batavia → Batavia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA276

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s decision to take off with the airplane over its maximum gross weight due to his failure to perform preflight weight and balance calculations, which affected the airplane’s takeoff performance, and his subsequent decision to abort the takeoff with too little runway remaining, which resulted in a runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, before the flight, he performed weight and balance and performance calculations with the initial fuel level in the airplane. The fuel tanks were then filled full of fuel, but he did not amend the weight and balance or performance calculations. The pilot reported that, during takeoff, after the airplane became airborne, he did not feel comfortable with the way the airplane was performing, so he reduced power and landed the airplane on the remaining runway. He added that he did not have enough runway to stop and attempted to exit on a taxiway but "understeered," and the airplane exited the runway into a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The airplane's maximum gross weight was 2,460 lbs, and the weight at the time of the accident was 2,600 lbs, which was about 140 lbs over the maximum gross weight and likely affected the airplane's takeoff performance. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.