Cessna 172 N7239Q

Summary

On 22 June 2018 at about 11:59 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N7239Q was involved in an accident near Diamondhead, Mississippi, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 June 2018 at 11:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Diamondhead, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Diamondhead (66Y)

Coordinates

30.3692, -89.3906

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N7239Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Diamondhead → Diamondhead

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18FA174

1 person died.

The student pilot's failure to retract the flaps following landing and the stall/mush that resulted during the subsequent full-flap takeoff and initial climb.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot obtained his first solo endorsement 10 days before the accident after he had accrued about 165 hours of flight experience. On the day of the accident, he was performing solo traffic pattern work, which included full-stop landings and then taxiing back for each subsequent takeoff. However, interpolation of radar data and the timing of the call to report the accident indicated that the pilot had performed a touch-and-go landing before the accident takeoff and flight. A witness described the airplane at a low altitude and airspeed as it crossed, at treetop height, an interstate highway immediately beyond the departure end of the runway. The airplane then disappeared below the trees. Examination of the wreckage site and the airplane wreckage revealed evidence consistent with engine power at impact and no preimpact mechanical anomaly. Measurement of the exposed threads of the flap actuator corresponded with a full-flap, 40° extension setting. According to the manufacturer's owner's manual, "flap settings of 30° to 40° are not recommended at any time for take-off." Thus, because the pilot took off with 40° of flaps, the airplane was unable to attain the normal climb speed and entered a stall/mush from which the pilot could not recover because of the low altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.