Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to attain proper liftoff speed resulting in an inadvertent stall and the failure to remove frost from the wing. A factor was fatigue.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The airplane stalled while the private pilot was attempting a takeoff from a dirt airstrip with frost on its wing. The airplane climbed out of ground effect without sufficient flying speed and the pilot raised the flaps prematurely. The airplane stalled and impacted the ground. The pilot had not slept for over 24 hours.
Source record
Factual narrative
On January 1, 1995, at 0735 mountain standard time, a Cessna 177B, N30898, was substantially damaged during takeoff near Torreon, New Mexico. The private pilot and his passanger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross country flight. The enclosed Pilot/Operator report stated the following information. The pilot had been awake for "over 24 hours." The weather was good for flying, but very cold. "The dirt runway was frozen rock hard." The pilot performed a soft field takeoff in an attempt to protect his nose gear from the rough frozen dirt runway. This was done by using flaps and by rotating the front landing gear off the ground as soon as possible on the takeoff roll. The aircraft lifted into the air and the pilot continued maintaining the aircraft in this attitude above ground effect without allowing the aircraft to accelerate to flying speed. At this same monent, the pilot raised his flaps. With flaps retracting "lift was lost," and the airplane subsequently stalled, impacting the ground. The pilot reported to the NTSB investigator-in-charge, that after the accident, he examined the upper wing surface much more closely. He discovered that there was a thin "uniform pockmark matrix" of frost over most of the wing. -