Cessna 172S N233GW

Summary

On 12 June 2008 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N233GW, operated by Leading Edge Aviation, was involved in an accident near Beaver, Utah, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 June 2008 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Beaver, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Beaver Municipal Airport (U52)

Coordinates

38.2306, -112.6753

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N233GW

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Leading Edge Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Beaver → Ogden

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08LA179

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to attain and maintain an adequate airspeed during the initial climb as a result of his inadequate preflight planning and improper use of the mixture control. Contributing to the accident were the tailwind and high density altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot obtained the local weather information and observed the windsock. Another airplane had just landed on runway 13, and with the weather information, he determined that he would take off on runway 13. The pilot said that he used a short-field takeoff technique with zero flaps, and the airplane encountered a wind gust and windshear conditions. The engine momentarily lost power and sputtered, and he checked the mixture control to make sure that it was at the full rich position and that the throttle was in. He maneuvered to avoid power lines and a circular agricultural irrigation system. The airplane then quickly lost altitude and the pilot nosed the airplane over to avoid a stall. The airplane impacted terrain about 2,850 feet from the end of runway 13, and approximately 1,000 feet to the right of runway centerline, damaging the firewall, wings, and crushing the fuselage bottom. Examination of the airframe, engine, and its fuel control unit identified no preexisting anomalies. The 4,984-foot-long paved runway had an uphill gradient of 1.5 percent and was at an elevation of 5,863 feet. The reported wind at the airport was from 330 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 14 knots. The density altitude was calculated at 7,457 feet. The pilot who landed just before the accident said that the winds were variable between 330 to 350 degrees at 5 to 10 knots. He further reported that the sky conditions were clear and that he observed no windshear or hazardous conditions around the airport. The terrain surrounding the airport was flat agricultural land, which was gently rising to the south, about 150 feet per nautical mile. The airplane was near its maximum gross weight. The Pilot's Operating Handbook for the airplane states that prior to takeoff from fields above 3,000 feet elevation, the mixture should be leaned to give maximum rpm in a full throttle, static run up. According to the engine manufacturer, if the engine is properly leaned for a density altitude of 7,457 feet, the normally aspirated engine's maximum output of 180 horsepower (hp) would be reduced to 138 hp. Since the engine was not leaned, but was operating at full rich mixture, its output would have been reduced even further, thus not allowing the airplane to outclimb the rising terrain for the existing conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.