Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Olive Branch Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Olive Branch, Mississippi 38654
Tuesady, October 21, 2003 9:10 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Witnesses stated that the airplane had just taken off from runway 18, and during the initial climb they saw it in a nose-high pitch attitude. They further stated that about 75 to 100 feet in the air they saw the airplane suddenly turn to the east, and descend straight down, impacting the ground. Examination of the wreckage showed that the airplane's flaps had been set to 20 degrees, and no preaccident anomalies were noted to exist with the airplane's airframe, flight controls, or engine. At the time of the accident, the student had accumulated a total of 39.7 hours total flight experience, and he was conducted his third solo flight. The student's flight instructor had specified in an endorsement he had provided to the student for solo flight, that solo flights be performed in a Cessna 172 , and that the flights be conducted at the Olive Branch Airport, when crosswinds were less than 5 knots. The reported surface winds at the Olive Branch Airport, Olive Branch, Mississippi, were from 270 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 14 knots. The pilot's operating handbook for the airplane specifies that flap settings in excess of 10 degrees are not approved for takeoff.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
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.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/21/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 910 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Olive Branch |
| Event State | MISSISSIPPI |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 38654 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 345842N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0892712W |
| Event Location Airport | Olive Branch Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | OLV |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 401 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 900 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OLV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 401 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 270 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 14 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17786 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 21 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1048 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 8 2005 12:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Jackson, Mississippi |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N75510 |
| NTSB Number | MIA04FA007 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172N |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17267771 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 14 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 14 |
| Airframe Hours | 9395 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Douglas Aviation Inc., |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 11299 Airport Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Olive Branch |
| Aircraft Owner State | MS |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 38654 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | OLV |
| Departure City | Olive Branch |
| Departure State | MS |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 800 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 6 2005 4:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 6000 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |