Cessna 172 N6705E

Summary

On 29 July 2020 at about 18:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N6705E was involved in an accident near Hudson, New York, 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

29 July 2020 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hudson, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Columbia County (1B1)

Coordinates

42.2914, -73.7103

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N6705E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hudson → Hudson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA269

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff, which resulted in a runway excursion and impact with vegetation. 

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, who had not flown for the three months preceding the accident, was flying the airplane for the first time since its annual inspection had been completed. Following an uneventful preflight inspection and flight to another airport, he landed the airplane at a third airport and back-taxied for departure. After traveling a short down the distance down the runway during the takeoff, the pilot reported that the airplane began yawing to the left. The pilot attempted to compensate for the left yaw by applying right rudder, but the left yaw continued. He then applied full right rudder but was unable to center the airplane and it departed the left side of the runway. The pilot then reduced engine power as the airplane proceed over the downward sloping terrain off the side of the runway and into an area of dense vegetation and small trees. The airplane came to rest in the vegetation and both wings and the forward portion of the fuselage were substantially damaged. A postaccident examination of the airplane’s ailerons, rudder, and brake systems revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that the wind was light and variable about the time of the accident. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot lost directional control of the airplane during the takeoff attempt, which resulted in a runway excursion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.