N739UG

Substantial
None

Cessna 172 NS/N: 17270812

Accident Details

Date
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
NTSB Number
NYC08CA250
Location
Williamstown, NJ
Event ID
20080810X01196
Coordinates
39.705554, -75.033058
Aircraft Damage
Substantial
Highest Injury
None
Fatalities
0
Serious Injuries
0
Minor Injuries
0
Uninjured
1
Total Aboard
1

Probable Cause and Findings

The student pilot's inability to maintain directional control during the attempted aborted landing. Contributing to the severity of the accident were the trees.

Aircraft Information

Registration
N739UG
Make
CESSNA
Serial Number
17270812
Engine Type
Reciprocating
Year Built
1978
Model / ICAO
172 NC172
Aircraft Type
Fixed Wing Single Engine
No. of Engines
1

Registered Owner (Historical)

Name
JAMARCO LLC
Address
2970 E GRANT AVE
Status
Deregistered
City
WILLIAMSTOWN
State / Zip Code
NJ 08094-6237
Country
United States

Analysis

The student pilot of the Cessna 172N departed his home airport for a short solo flight to another airport, where he made an uneventful full-stop landing, before returning to his home airport. The student pilot reported that while attempting to land on runway 27, the airplane was "blowing around quite a bit." During the landing attempt, the airplane bounced twice, and the pilot decided to perform a go-around. He applied power, and attempted to maintain 70 knots as he began the climbout; however, the airplane veered left, and "would not climb." The student pilot aborted the takeoff, and the airplane subsequently struck trees adjacent to a taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its wings and cabin structure during the collision. According to the student pilot's certificated flight instructor (CFI), the winds at the time of the accident were no more than 5 knots, but the windsock was "dancing." The CFI added that the winds were favoring runway 27, but might have switched to favor runway 9 at the time of the accident. The recorded conditions about the time of the accident, at an airport 13 miles northwest of the accident location, were winds from 020 degrees at 8 knots, and a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius. The pilot had accumulated approximately 15 total hours of flight experience, 3 hours of which were conducted solo. The student pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Data Source

Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# NYC08CA250