Cessna 172 N9912Q accident near Salmon, Idaho

Probable cause

The pilot's decision to take off in known adverse wind conditions that lead to an encounter with a windshear, the resulting inability of the pilot to maintain airspeed, and a stall/mush into the terrain.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported gusty wind conditions prior to his takeoff. During the takeoff initial climb out, the wind shifted and the airplane was not able to maintain altitude. The airplane landed hard beyond the departure end of the runway and the nose landing gear folded back into the airplane causing damage to the firewall. In the pilot's written statement he reported that he should not have been in such a hurry to take off and that if he would have departed 10 minutes earlier or later the winds would not have affected the takeoff. Archived AWOS weather for the airport at 1535 reported winds from 190 degrees at 7 knots. At 1515 winds were reported to be from 210 degrees at 8 knots gusting to 32 knots. Winds reported at 1555 were from 250 degrees at 14 knots gusting to 31 knots; with the winds varying in direction from 210 degrees to 280 degrees.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for LAX08CA237 for the full record.