Cessna 177 accident near Maple Lake, Minnesota, August 24, 1997
On August 24, 1997 at about 1:20 am local time, a Cessna 177, registered N29379, was substantially damaged in an accident near Maple Lake, Minnesota (Maple Lake airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot failure to maintain control of the airplane while landing and his improper recovery from the bounced landing. Factors associated with the accident were the night conditions and the pilot lack of recent experience with night operations.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 24, 1997 · about 1:20 am local time
- Place
- Maple Lake, Minnesota · Maple Lake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177 · all 177s on the register
- Registration
- N29379 · registry record · serial 17700851
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot performed one go-around because of excessive airspeed. The pilot reported the nose wheel touched down first during the second landing. The airplane bounced and touched down '...more violently...' a second time. The pilot added full power, removed carburetor heat, and reduced the flaps 10 degrees. The airplane bounced again and he applied full flaps '... to raise the stall speed.' When the airplane did not accelerate he once again reduced the flaps 10 degrees. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway and came to rest in a corn field. Official sunset was 1 hour 11 minutes prior to the accident. The pilot had 3 hours of total night time and was not night current.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 116 hours in all; 81 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 67 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 2, 1997
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 43F Litchfield MN
- Destination: Y33
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 2,800 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 280° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:15 am from KLJ, 29 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI97LA269.