Cessna 172S accident near Laurel, Delaware, November 5, 2005
On November 5, 2005 at about 11:07 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N3540U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Laurel, Delaware (Laurel Airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper decision to takeoff from an unimproved field, and his subsequent failure to abort the takeoff prior to collision with a sign and an embankment. Factors in the accident were his improper soft field technique, and the dark night conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 5, 2005 · about 11:07 pm local time
- Place
- Laurel, Delaware · Laurel Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N3540U · no longer on the register · serial 172S8952
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Another pilot successfully landed the airplane in a farm field after an inadvertent engine stoppage earlier in the day. The accident pilot/owner responded to the field to recover the airplane with a flight instructor and a mechanic, and was met there by an FAA inspector. The airplane was deemed airworthy, and the pilot announced his plan to takeoff from the unlit field at night. The FAA inspector, the flight instructor, and the mechanic all attempted to dissuade the pilot from his plan, but he attempted the takeoff after the inspector left the scene, 41 minutes after civil twilight. According to the flight instructor, "He was at full throttle the whole time. He pitched up, and never lowered the nose. He drug the tail the whole time. He was at full throttle and went up over a barn, hit a sign, went over the road, under the power lines, up an embankment, and down in the field." The airplane bounced in the field, struck the right wing, then nosed into the ground, and came to rest. The engine was at full power the entire time, and the engine stopped when the propeller struck the ground. Immediately after the accident, the pilot told the FAA inspector that the accident resulted from his "poor soft field technique." He later told the Safety Board that the engine lost power during takeoff. After the accident, the engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran to full power without interruption on the airframe. When the flight instructor was asked if he had endorsed the pilot's plan for takeoff, he responded, "No. We all discussed it, but he's pig-headed, you can't tell him anything. The FAA inspector told him not to do it, but he said, 'It's my airplane, and it's airworthy. I'm taking off.' I told him that he could go the opposite way, or we could take the wings off and truck it out of there. From my perspective, he did the procedure completely wrong."
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,190 hours in all; 593 in this make and model; 29 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 8,984 as pilot in command; 3,790 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,551 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 1, 2005; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,660 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Laurel DE
- Destination: ILG Wilmington DE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: at 0 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 10:54 pm from SBY, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N3540U the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.