Cessna 172-N N75542

Summary

On 28 June 2013 at about 16:50 local time, a Cessna 172-N registered N75542 was involved in an accident near Trout Lake, Washington, United States. 4 people were 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

28 June 2013 at 16:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Trout Lake, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Trout Lake Airport (66WA)

Coordinates

46.0006, -121.5247

Aircraft

Cessna 172-N

Registration

N75542

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Trout Lake → Trout Lake

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13LA299

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees during takeoff from a soft field and to abort the landing when the airplane reached the runway’s midpoint at a low airspeed.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the engine was developing full power during the attempted soft-field takeoff from the 1,800-foot grass airstrip in calm wind. About halfway down the runway, the airspeed indicator only read about 40 knots. When the airplane was about two-thirds of the way down the runway, the pilot realized that he was committed to take off because insufficient runway was remaining to stop the airplane. After reaching about 45 knots, the airplane's nosewheel lifted off the runway, but it only lifted about 4 feet off the ground. About the same time, the airplane's right wing impacted two 10-foot-tall trees and a barbed wire fence. The airplane subsequently cleared a drainage ditch, the main landing gear impacted a sprinkler pipe, and the airplane skidded on all three main landing gear before coming to rest in an upright position. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and empennage. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was within its weight and balance limits. The pilot reported that he had experience taking off and landing on short and soft fields and that, on the day before the accident, he had practiced short-field takeoffs and landings at another airport; however, he did not indicate if he had practiced soft-field takeoffs and landings at that time. The pilot should have aborted the takeoff when the airplane reached the runway's midpoint at an airspeed of only about 40 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.