At 1440 eastern time, a Cessna 172 crashed into a field when it failed to climb after takeoff from Hampton Roads Airport. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot, a flight instructor, said she had spend 1 hours cleaning snow from the airplane before attempting to take off. She said she cleared the leading edges but decided the snow of top of the wings would blow off during taxi. As the airplane reached 300 feet, however, the stall horn went off and the pilot attempted to return to the airport. During the turn, the airplane landed hard in a field. A witness, who is a Designated Pilot Examiner, said the airplane was covered with up to 4 inches of snow and ice as the airplane taxied to the runway. At the accident site, there was still about -inch of ice and snow on the wings.
January 18, Chesapeake, Va. / Cessna 172
At 1440 eastern time, a Cessna 172 crashed into a field when it failed to climb after takeoff from Hampton Roads Airport. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot, a flight instructor, said she had spend 1 hours cleaning snow from the airplane before attempting to take off. She said she cleared the leading edges but decided the snow of top of the wings would blow off during taxi. As the airplane reached 300 feet, however, the stall horn went off and the pilot attempted to return to the airport. During the turn, the airplane landed hard in a field. A witness, who is a Designated Pilot Examiner, said the airplane was covered with up to 4 inches of snow and ice as the airplane taxie...
Key Takeaways:
- A Cessna 172 crashed shortly after takeoff from Hampton Roads Airport, but the pilot and passenger were uninjured.
- The accident was attributed to the pilot's decision to take off with snow and ice on the wings, which she believed would clear during taxi.
- The aircraft stalled at 300 feet, reportedly due to significant snow and ice accumulation on the wings, despite the pilot having cleared the leading edges.
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