Cessna 172S N65777

Summary

On 8 August 2011 at about 16:57 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N65777, operated by Florida Flyers, was involved in an accident near St. Augustine, Florida, 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

8 August 2011 at 16:57

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Augustine, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

St. Augustine Airport (SGJ)

Coordinates

30.0105, -81.4108

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N65777

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Florida Flyers

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Augustine → St. Augustine

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11CA446

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's loss of directional control while attempting to close the airplane's door during takeoff roll.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the student pilot, she completed one solo full-stop landing in the traffic pattern before the accident sequence. She taxied the airplane back to runway, was cleared for takeoff, and advanced the throttle to full forward. Soon she realized that the left door was open and she attempted to close it. According to the flight instructor monitoring the solo flight, the airplane departed the left side of the runway, bounced once, the nose wheel struck the ground, and the airplane came to rest inverted. The airplane incurred substantial damage to the firewall and empennage. The student pilot reported there were no preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.