Cessna 172M N20459

Summary

On 14 May 2022 at about 18:10 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N20459, operated by Little Bird Airways LLC, was involved in an accident near Lancaster, New York, United States. 2 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

14 May 2022 at 18:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Lancaster, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Buffalo-Lancaster Regional Air (BQR)

Coordinates

42.9221, -78.6120

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N20459

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Little Bird Airways LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA228

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s excessive pitch during takeoff resulted in a loss of control and impact with terrain. Contributing was the student’s failure to relinquish the controls when ordered by the instructor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that after she demonstrated a soft-field takeoff, she directed the student to conduct one. During the takeoff roll, the student maintained excessive back pressure on the control yoke and was told by the instructor to reduce the back pressure. Once the airplane lifted off the runway it started to veer to the left; the instructor again informed the student to reduce back pressure to decrease the pitch, but the student maintained a grip on the controls and held excessive right rudder. The instructor stated, “I have the controls,” but the student “locked up and blocked” them and failed to relinquish the controls. The instructor was able to reduce the pitch, but directional control was lost, and the left wing contacted the runway surface, and the airplane departed the runway and flipped over, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and airframe. The instructor stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.