N727SP

On January 4, 2001, at 1046 central standard time, a Cessna 172S, N727SP, piloted by a student pilot, sustained substantial damage during an on-ground collision with the terrain following a loss of directional control during takeoff roll on runway 33 (6,670 feet by 150 feet, frost covered/asphalt), at the Joe Foss Field Airport, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The solo-instructional flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. The student pilot, the sole occupant, reported no injuries. The local flight was departing at the time of the accident.

According to the pilot's written statement, he was practicing solo touch-and-go landings at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that after a successful landing he initiated a takeoff and, "as I added power the airplane seemed to shimmy at which time I tried to correct the plane. As I was unable to correct I powered back to idle and tried to stop which is when the plane went off the left side of the runway and hit a windrow of snow." The pilot reported, "Hitting the snow made the planes [plane's] tail lift and spin around which made the right wing hit the ground causing damage." The pilot reported that his total time in all aircraft was 24.1-hours and all hours were flown in the accident airplane make and model. The pilot reported that he had accumulated 1.4-hours of pilot-in-command time.