Cessna 170 N9972A

Summary

On 6 January 2018 at about 17:00 local time, a Cessna 170 registered N9972A was involved in an accident near Ponca City, Oklahoma, United States. 4 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

6 January 2018 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Ponca City, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Ponca City Rgnl (PNC)

Coordinates

36.7319, -97.0997

Aircraft

Cessna 170

Registration

N9972A

Category

Airplane

Year built

1950

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ponca City → Enid

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA070

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's loss of directional control during takeoff with a quartering tailwind, 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 departed with a quartering tailwind in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. During the takeoff roll, the airplane veered left; the pilot reported that he applied rudder to stop the turn, but the airplane continued to veer left. As the airplane exited the left side of the runway, the right main landing gear separated from the airplane, and the fuselage and right wing sustained substantial damage. Examination revealed that the main landing gear fracture surfaces were consistent with an initiating fatigue fracture that propagated toward an overstress fracture; the size of the fatigue crack before the final overstress fracture could not be determined. It is likely that the pilot lost control of the airplane during takeoff in a quartering tailwind.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.