Report on air accident at Svolvær Airport Helle 9 July 2019 with Cessna Aircraft Company 172P Skyhawk, LN-ZLV

Aviation report 2019/13

On 9 July 2019 the commander started on a local sightseeing trip with two passengers. One of the passengers had some previous flight training. The commander, who was an experienced flight instructor, let the passenger take over the controls. During take off, as the aeroplane attained rotation speed, the passenger experiensed that the position on the elevantor control was stuck. The aeroplane reached an altitude of 6-7 ft above the runway, and bounced several times. The commander took control of the aircraft and understood that the gust lock had not been removed from the control wheel. He then aborted the takeoff, whereupon the aeroplane landed hard on the runway. They succeeded in bringing the aeroplane to a halt, 50 meters short of the end of the runway, close to the northeastern runway edge. The occupants escaped injury, but there was significant damage to the engine firewall, engine mounts, nose landing gear leg and the propeller. This accident is one of many occurrences where check lists have not been used. The accident shows with clarity the importance to use check lists.

Facts