Cessna 172N N3477E

Summary

On 12 February 2021 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N3477E was involved in an accident near Prairie du Sac, 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

12 February 2021 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Sauk-Prairie (91C)

Coordinates

43.2977, -89.7557

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N3477E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Middleton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA127

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s loss of directional control during takeoff, which resulted in the collision with a snowbank. Contributing to the accident was the compacted snow conditions on the runway surface.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the takeoff roll, the airplane encountered compacted snow on the runway surface, and the airplane slid to the left. The pilot, a solo student, reduced the engine throttle and applied right rudder; however, the airplane continued to the left. The left main landing gear hit a snowbank on the side of the runway, the airplane spun, and the right wing hit the snowbank. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. A Notice to Airman for the airport reported the field conditions as 100% compacted snow with the conditions not monitored. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.