This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
Preflight and run-up was normal. Engine operation was good. Began taxiing on the runway. Full power was applied and engine instruments were all in the green (rpm, pressure, and temperature).
Airspeed was increasing slowly initially at first, but rpm increased as airspeed increased and I reached rotation speed of 60 to 65. I reached my normal Vx speed of 65 to 70 mph.
I had seen the climb-out of another aircraft and it appeared to be windy, so I decided to add a little more speed to that as a buffer for safety.
I had briefed this prior to takeoff and was aiming for 70 to 75 for the climb out for obstacle avoidance and wind buffer.
I also had briefed and prepared for a wind shift as I got above the trees, as this is a standard precaution that I have regularly made at this airport (because of the location of the trees) and was prepared to expect it (as is regularly briefed for an eventuality such as this). This is a part of my normal before takeoff emergency brief.
As soon as I got near the tops of the trees I felt the lift reduce and the stall horn began. The controls were sluggish and I knew instantly that I needed to lower the nose to prevent a stall. I lowered the nose and tried to nurse it back up, but very quickly realized something needed to be done as the runway was reducing and I didn’t feel comfortable in the lift being generated being able to take me over the trees.
I made a quick decision to reduce the power and attempt for an aborted landing. I pitched over, touched down, and hit the brakes. I realized that the runway was coming to an end and the hill was going to slope down, so I attempted to turn the Cessna 172 using the rudders and was successful in slowing the aircraft and not going down into the sloped hill.
Then I managed to stop the aircraft at the end of the runway. Once the aircraft was stopped, the engine was running. I pulled the mixture, switched the mags to off, and turned off the master.
Post-incident inspection showed apparently minor prop damage (a ding in the prop) and nothing else appeared to be damaged.
Post-flight discussion with the pilot of the initial observed aircraft and he stated that he also felt the wind shift and was struggling to climb. The climb-out seemed a little low to me, but it was not readily apparent to me that it was solely because of the winds.
I surmise that a windshear event occurred from the changing wind direction because of the trees. Luckily, I had briefed for this eventuality and knew what to do.
Things that went right:
- Proper brief prior to takeoff which covered a change in wind due to the trees.
- Proper speed-wind buffer: This resulted in the lift that WAS available at that time and contributed to a safe landing without exceeding the critical Angle of Attack.
- Managed to stop the aircraft with minimal damage and no occupant damage.
Things that went wrong:
- Initial observation of the struggling climb of the aircraft on departure should have resulted in more hesitancy to depart to begin with.
Primary Problem: Weather
ACN: 1820677
“Minor damage?” Nicked prop = major damage, engine pull down for inspection. Sequence a little difficult to visualize. How could you be over the trees and “abort the landing”? When I take off with trees at the end, I vector away from them. If there is no available vector, use all of the runway and be as close to pattern as possible by the end. Glad you had the presence of mind to lower the nose and avoided stall and fall.
It’s kind of like an auto insurance report saying I had to swerve several times to hit the tree.
Loss of headwind component at low altitude is definitely a scary moment. I include the winds aloft forecast in deciding the departure runway. In some cases, the initial takeoff roll may be very slightly downwind, but passing through tree-top level, you get a big shift to a headwind component, rather than starting with a headwind with a big shift to a tailwind component at a vulnerable spot. Usually on those days, there are larger than normal differences in surface winds and the lowest wind on the winds aloft forecast.
Perhaps do short field takeoffs if things are that marginal.
Had a common trip I used to make in a T-Arrow and Mooney. Making the same trip in a C-172 or a PA28-161 found there was a definitive spot they would both loss altitude at 100 fpm. Point being some aircraft are really at the mercy of the wind.
GA News headline:
“Reaction to wind shear bends 172”
Pilot’s report:
“Post-incident inspection showed apparently minor prop damage (a ding in the prop) and nothing else appeared to be damaged.”
Hmmmm.
Poor headline…….
Yeah…I agree.