N385ME – CESSNA 172S – 2010-12-23 NTSB Accident Report

On December 23, 2010, a Cessna 172S (N385ME) was involved in an incident near Fort Myers, FL. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s attempt to take off with full flaps.

According to the pilot, he was practicing touch and go landings on runway 5, a 6,404-foot-long, 150-foot-wide runway. During the takeoff roll following his eighth landing, the pilot felt "a gust of wind pushing…the plane to the left." He applied full right aileron, but could not arrest the turn. The pilot then applied the brakes, but the airplane departed the left side of the runway, impacted a ditch, and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall, wings, and vertical stabilizer. During a subsequent examination of the wreckage, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector found the flaps in the FULL, 30-degree position. The inspector also reported that there were no preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA11CA096. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N385ME.