Cessna 172N accident near Olive Branch, MS
On October 21, 2003, a Cessna 172N (airplane) was involved in an accident near Olive Branch, MS. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 21, 2003
- Place
- Olive Branch, MS
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.978°N, 89.453°W
- NTSB ID
- 20031024X01811
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 21, 2003, about 0910 central daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N75510, registered to and operated by Douglas Aviation Inc., as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, crashed in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The student pilot received fatal injuries, and the airplane incurred substantial damage. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. According to the owner of Douglas Aviation Inc., the flight school operator with whom the student had been receiving flight instruction, the student was flying the airplane in the traffic pattern practicing takeoffs and landings as part of his solo training for the FAA private pilot certificate, when the accident occurred. He further stated that the training session had begun about 0800, and student had flown the airplane to the practice area prior to returning to fly in the traffic pattern. At the time of the accident, the pilot was conducting his third unsupervised solo flight. Witnesses at the airport stated that the airplane had just taken off from runway 18 and during the initial climb they observed it in a nose high pitch attitude, at an altitude of about 75 to 100 feet. They further stated that the airplane suddenly turned to the east, and descended straight down, impacting the ground. Three firefighters who were at the nearby airport fire station said that they were outside at the time and they saw the airplane in a steep nose-up attitude, when all of a sudden it banked "almost inverted" to the east. They further stated
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to maintain airspeed (Vso), which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin, an uncontrolled descent, and an impact with terrain. A factor in the accident was his failure to follow the airplane's operating checklist and retract the wing flaps for takeoff.
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Browse: Mississippi · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
