Cessna 177 N34284

Summary

On 24 February 2025 at about 16:10 local time, a Cessna 177 registered N34284 was involved in an accident near Iron River, Michigan, United States. 3 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

24 February 2025 at 16:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Iron River, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Stambaugh (Y73)

Coordinates

46.0788, -88.6355

Aircraft

Cessna 177

Registration

N34284

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Iron River → Eagle River

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA102

Nobody was injured.

The airplane’s collision with runway lights during takeoff due to reduced airplane climb performance. Contributing to the accident was the shifting winds during takeoff which likely developed into a tailwind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that before takeoff he calculated the airplane weight to be 104 lbs below maximum gross weight, the takeoff distance to be about 985 ft, and estimated the wind to be from 250° at 15 knots gusting to 30 knots. The pilot departed from runway 17 and rotated the airplane for takeoff about 1,250 ft down the 2,000 ft runway. He noted that the airplane did not climb as expected, and he kept the airplane wings level in ground effect, but the airplane drifted left and collided with the runway end lights. The pilot continued the initial climb and realized that the right main landing gear tire had separated from the airplane. He continued to his destination airport and landed on the runway without further incident. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilator. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Following the accident, the pilot assessed that wind may have shifted to a tailwind resulting in a loss of airplane performance. The closest aviation weather reporting facility was 25 nautical miles from the departure airport which reported a variable wind from 260° to 320° at 14 knots gusting to 24 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.