Cessna 172P N62746

Summary

On 2 February 1991 at about 21:20 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N62746, operated by Maine Wing, was involved in an accident near Augusta, Maine, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 February 1991 at 21:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Augusta, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Augusta State (AUG)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N62746

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Maine Wing

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Portland → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC91FA069

3 people died.

THE PILOT ROTATED THE AIRPLANE AT AN IMPROPER SPEED, THEN ALLOWED THE CLIMB ANGLE TO BECOME TOO STEEP, CAUSING AN INADVERTENT STALL AT TOO LOW AN ALTITUDE TO ALLOW RECOVERY. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT WERE; THE PILOT FAILED TO USE ALL OF THE AVAILABLE RUNWAY; AND THE PILOT'S LOW TIME AND TOTAL LACK OF FLIGHT EXPERIENCE.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

WITNESSES SAW THE AIRPLANE LAND AND THEN SLOW TO TAXI SPEED. AT AN INTERSECTING RUNWAY WITH APPROXIMATELY 400 FEET OF RUNWAY REMAINING THE PILOT ELECTED TO TAKEOFF. WITNESS SAW THE AIRPLANE TAKEOFF AT A SLOW SPEED, AND CLIMB AT A STEEP ANGLE. A WITNESS SAID, '... THE PLANE IMMEDIATELY NOSED OVER AND FELL TO THE GROUND...' AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT THE PILOT HAD A TOTAL OF 130 FLIGHT HOURS.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.