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CEN11LA204

2011-02-25 · Andrews, Texas, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport E11

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during an emergency descent, following a loss of engine power, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

Factual narrative

On February 25, 2011, at 1238 central standard time, a Cessna 172N, N739BL, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain shortly after taking off Andrews County Airport (E11), Andrews, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was seriously injured. The cross-country flight was originating at the time of the accident, and was destined for Midland (MDD), Texas. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, a witness who was servicing his airplane observed the beginning of the takeoff roll. The witness looked away and then heard the sound of impact. When he looked up, the airplane was off to the side of the runway. All of the wreckage was confined to a small area. According to the pilot's accident report, the engine "failed" at an altitude of 400 to 500 feet above ground level (AGL). The pilot said he was able to maintain a controlled descent until approximately 100 feet AGL., where the airplane stalled and impacted the ground adjacent the departure end of the runway. On May 4, 2011, the engine was examined at the facilities of Air Salvage of Dallas, Texas. No anomalies were found. The pilot said that shortly after liftoff, the engine lost power at an altitude of 400 to 500 feet above ground level (agl). He was able to maintain a controlled descent until approximately 100 feet agl, where the airplane stalled and impacted the ground. The engine was later examined, and no anomalies were found. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • F Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine (reciprocating)-(general)-Failure - F
  • F Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - F
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_CEN11LA204.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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