Cessna 172S N5329L

Summary

On 17 October 2009 at about 21:11 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N5329L was involved in an accident near Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. One person was on board and one 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

17 October 2009 at 21:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Nearest airport

Honolulu International (PHNL)

Coordinates

21.3186, -157.9222

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N5329L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Honolulu → Lanai

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10CA019

1 person had minor injuries.

The student pilot's distraction and subsequent loss of airplane control after the cabin window opened during the takeoff roll.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that the cabin window opened during the takeoff roll. He reached over to close the window and a few seconds later the airplane rotated and banked to the left. He attempted to regain control of the airplane, but it collided with the runway surface, causing substantial damage to the firewall and both wings. The flight was to be the pilot's first solo cross-country flight; he reported 55 hours of total flight time, 1 hour of which was as pilot-in-command. Right gusting crosswinds existed at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.