Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 172P near Honesdale, PA — 2016-06-20

Final reportERA16LA224
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Date
2016-06-20
Location
Honesdale, PA, USA
Airport
N30
Aircraft
CESSNA 172P
Registration
N54285
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while departing in a heavily loaded airplane at high density altitude, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall, landing hard, and overrunning the runway.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that the airplane was loaded near its maximum allowable gross weight before departure from the airport. The calculated density altitude was 3,297 ft mean sea level. The pilot stated that, after becoming airborne and climbing to 30 to 40 ft above ground level (agl), he "felt that the airplane was not climbing." The pilot subsequently closed the throttle and attempted to land on the remaining runway. A review of surveillance video showed the wings of the airplane rocking immediately after liftoff at the mid-point of the runway, which was about 3,000 ft long. The video showed that the airplane's pitch attitude increased, but the airplane never climbed more than about 15 ft agl before it fell hard to the runway on all three landing gear, consistent with an aerodynamic stall. The airplane bounced several times, settled onto the runway with about 500 ft remaining, then overran the right side of the runway at the departure end. Performance data from the pilot's operating handbook indicated that, given the conditions present at the time of the accident, the airplane's landing distance was about 610 ft. Postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the airplane's wings; there was no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies of the airframe or engine. A postaccident engine run also revealed no anomalies.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not account for high density altitude affecting climb performance.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Video
  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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