Cessna 172 N61914

Summary

On 15 February 1997 at about 10:30 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N61914 was involved in an accident near Oconto, Wisconsin, 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

15 February 1997 at 10:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Oconto, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Oconto Municipal (OCQ)

Coordinates

44.8896, -87.8596

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N61914

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Fort Wayne

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CHI97TA070

Nobody was injured.

the failure of the pilot to maintain proper runway alignment and thus clearance with the snow drifts during takeoff. A factor was the distance the snow drifts extended past the runway edge.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that small finger snow drifts were on the runway at the time of the accident. The drifts were approximately one foot deep, and extended from the runway edge to approximately one half the distance to the runway centerline. The pilot said that during the takeoff roll, just before rotation, the right wheel of the airplane impacted one of the drifts, causing the airplane's nose to veer to the right, and the nose wheel to dig in. After hitting the snow drift the airplane flipped over on its back. The pilot reported that he had allowed the airplane to drift over to the right side of the runway during the takeoff roll.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.