N74WC

The pilot of a Cessna 172M said that the preflight, runup, and initial takeoff roll on runway 1 "were normal." During the takeoff roll, the airplane veered left onto the grass, and the pilot's efforts to direct the airplane back onto the runway were "unsuccessful." The airplane crossed a taxiway perpendicular to the runway, and became airborne. It continued to drift left, and the left wing struck a tree at a point approximately 25 feet above the ground. The airplane then descended and impacted the ground. It came to rest upright, on a heading of approximately 245 degrees, in the grass on the west side of the runway. The pilot exited through his door, and tried unsuccessfully to put out a fire in the engine compartment, using the airplane's hand held fire extinguisher. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and engine compartment. Runway 1 was dry asphalt, and measured 3,000 feet long and 50 feet wide. The pilot reported the winds as "light and variable." The reported wind at an airport located approximately 22 miles northeast of the accident location, about the time of the accident, was winds from 280 degrees at 7 knots, direction variable from 260 to 330 degrees.