Cessna 172N N3477E

Summary

On 4 January 2024 at about 18:46 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N3477E, operated by Morey Airplane CO. Inc., was involved in an accident near Middleton, 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

4 January 2024 at 18:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Middleton, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Middleton Municipal Airport (C29)

Coordinates

43.1150, -89.5337

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N3477E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Morey Airplane CO. Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24LA082

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll.

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 veered to the left of the runway centerline, and the solo student pilot was unable to maintain directional control. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and nosed over in a marshy area, which resulted in substantial damage to the rudder and right-wing lift strut. Postaccident examination did not reveal any anomaly with the airplane’s flight control systems or nosewheel steering. Tire abrasions noted on the runway were consistent with the left main landing gear tire and indicated a trajectory toward the left side of the runway. Although the left main landing gear wheel exhibited more resistance than the right wheel during hand rotation, and the left brake assembly anchor bolts showed corrosion and surface pitting, there was no evidence that the left brake had locked up. Further, the three evenly spaced linear tire impressions in the grass extending from the runway edge to the wreckage suggest that the wheels were rotating freely before the airplane nosed over. The student pilot’s loss of control, which could have resulted from an inadvertent application of the left brake during the takeoff roll, resulted in the runway excursion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.