Cessna 172 N8928B accident near New Carlisle, Ohio

Probable cause

The pilot’s excessive use of pitch control during rotation, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and entering an aerodynamic stall shortly after liftoff.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting a personal flight when during takeoff he was too aggressive as he pulled aft on the control stick to rotate, which resulted in a higher-than-normal pitch attitude after liftoff. About 15 seconds after liftoff, he felt the airplane shudder as it began to descend. He decreased airplane pitch to increase airspeed, but the airplane continued to descend. He made an immediate landing in a plant nursery about 0.5 mile from the departure end of runway. The airplane’s nose landing gear collided with a hoop support in the plant nursery before the airplane impacted terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, and the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

A witness reported seeing the airplane taxi to the approach end of the runway and stop momentarily before it continued the takeoff roll with the flaps retracted. He saw the airplane pitch up very sharply about 330-500 ft from the departure end of the runway. The airplane’s pitch attitude was high enough for him to see the top surface of both wings and the horizontal stabilizers. The airplane climbed about 2-3 airplane lengths in the nose-high pitch attitude before it pitched down to a nose-level attitude. The airplane’s tail yawed briefly left and right before the right wing dropped and the airplane descended behind a tree line.

Although the airplane was about 5 lbs over maximum gross weight, it likely still had adequate takeoff performance to achieve a normal takeoff with the runway length available. It is likely the pilot used excessive aft pitch control during rotation, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and entering an aerodynamic stall shortly after liftoff.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN19LA263 for the full record.