13 May 2008: Cessna 172A — David W. Richerson

13 May 2008: Cessna 172A — David W. Richerson

No fatalities • Jamestown, PA, United States

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain control after takeoff resulting in contact with the ground. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight planning resulting in a takeoff from a short, wet, soft, runway.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The pilot was not aware of the length of the runway, and did not walk/survey the runway prior to the takeoff from the short, wet, soft runway. He used a combination short and soft field takeoff procedures, and after becoming airborne, the "P" factor (left turning tendency) seemed "unusually strong." He applied right aileron and rudder in an attempt to maintain directional control, but the right wing then the nose and left wing contacted the ground. The pilot further stated that there was no preimpact failure or malfunction with the airplane or its systems.

Contributing factors

  • Awareness of condition
  • factor Pilot
  • cause Pilot

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 020/05kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.