Lake Little, 18, Went Down On The Ole Miss Golf Course

The NTSB has released a preliminary report from an accident which fatally injured 18-year-old Elizabeth (Lake) Little on July 6th. Little, a student pilot, was flying a Cessna C172 when it went down on the Ole Miss Golf Course near the University-Oxford Airport (KUOX).

According to the report, the accident occurred at about 1515 central daylight time. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). The cross-country flight originated from the Golden Triangle Regional Airport (KGTR), near Columbus, Mississippi, about 1400 and was destined for KUOX. Day VFR conditions prevailed in the area about the time of the accident, and the flight was operated on a visual flight rules flight plan.

A fixed base operator at KUOX reported that he heard the pilot on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) notifying the air traffic that she was in the area. He did not see the airplane at that time. About 1515, he heard the pilot announce on the CTAF indicating that the airplane was landing on runway 9. The pilot's voice sounded "panicked" and she did not finish her sentences. The pilot did not respond to the helicopter in the area asking for her location. The witness saw the airplane approach runway 9 with a tailwind. The airplane did not touch the runway and abeam the windsock near midfield, the airplane started to climb at a "steep" angle. The witness indicated that there were no engine anomalies heard. The airplane headed towards the golf course and then the witness saw the airplane "go straight down behind the trees." Smoke was observed about 3 minutes later above the treeline. A local FAA air traffic control center called a few minutes before the landing attempt and was looking for the airplane. A co-worker hung up with the center and then called 9-1-1 notifying them of the crash.

A witness at the golf course reported that he first heard the airplane on takeoff or a very close to the runway. The first visual he had of the plane was above the trees over the 16th hole. The airplane appeared to be "struggling" to maintain airspeed, was nose up, and appeared to be very close to stalling. The witness indicated that the airplane then made a left turn and lost altitude. He thought the airplane was attempting a landing on the 17th fairway. However, the airplane continued with the left turn, struck the ground, and slid up to nearby trees.

Good Samaritans and first responders tried to extract the pilot from the cockpit. The seatbelt and shoulder harness retained the pilot in the cockpit. A ground fire subsequently occurred. Firefighters contained the fire, the pilot was extracted, and subsequently airlifted to a hospital.

The 18-year-old pilot held a FAA student pilot certificate issued on August 19, 2017. On October 5, 2018, the pilot was issued a FAA third-class medical certificate with no limitations. On the application for that medical certificate, the pilot reported having accumulated 20 hours of total flight time with 13 hours logged in the preceding six months. The pilot's logbook was not recovered. However, according to initial information from the CAP, the pilot had accumulated about 69.4 hours of total flight time, 30.2 hours in 172R airplanes, 32.7 hours in the last 90 days, 16.7 hours in the last 30 days, and 1.2 hours in the prior 24 hours.

The 1997-model Cessna 172R, was a 4-four seat, high-wing, single-engine airplane. It was powered by a 180-horsepower Lycoming IO-360-L2A engine with serial number L-29877-51. It drove a 2- bladed, fixed pitch, metal, McCauley propeller. The airplane's last inspection was annual inspection conducted on June 21, 2019, at a tachometer and total time of 2,834.6 hours.

At 1515, the recorded weather at KUOX was: Wind 310° at 11 kts; visibility 9 statute miles; sky condition few clouds at 3,400 ft, scattered clouds at 4,100 ft; temperature 32° C; dew point 21° C; altimeter 30.04 inches of mercury.

KUOX, located approximately two miles northwest of downtown Oxford, Mississippi, was a publicly owned, non-towered airport, which was owned by the University of Mississippi. It is attended from 0700-1800. KUOX's surveyed field elevation was 452 ft above mean sea level. KUOX was serviced by runway 9/27, which was a 5,600 ft, by 100 ft, asphalt runway. Runway 9 was marked as a non-precision approach runway. It was serviced by a four-light precision approach path indicator on the runway's left side. Comments for runway 9 indicated there were no obstructions.

The airplane came to rest on a golf course about 1,200 ft north of runway 9's centerline. The airplane resting heading was about 170°. A ground scar consistent with a left main landing gear impression was observed about 70 ft north of the wreckage. Also, abeam this ground scar to the east was a depression consistent with left wing contact. A ground scar consistent with a cowling and nose landing gear impression was found about 58 ft north of the wreckage. Retaining clips consistent with nose landing gear clips were found near this scar and the scar exhibited a depression consistent with a propeller strike. The fuselage's center section was found melted, deformed, and discolored by fire. Sections of the left and right wing struts were found under their wings. The outboard section of the left wing was deformed and wrinkled upward and rearward, consistent with ground contact. The empennage was found upright. The engine and its attached propeller were found inverted and the engine was partially connected to the firewall, underneath the forward fuselage. An outboard section of one propeller blade was melted and the other propeller blade exhibited forward bending.

An on-scene investigation was conducted. Flight control cables were traced, and control continuity was established to all control surfaces from the cockpit area. Engine control cables were traced and control continuity was established from the cockpit area to the engine. Removed sparkplugs exhibited a normal combustion appearance when compared to a Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug chart. The engine exhibited a thumb compression at three cylinders when the crankshaft was rotated. All rocker covers were removed, and all valve train components moved accordingly when the crankshaft was rotated. The No. 4 cylinder was removed, and it had material under its exhaust valve. Oil was observed within the engine crankcase when the cylinder was removed. The oil screen and oil filter were examined, and no debris was observed in them. The fuel servo screen did not contain any debris when it was examined. The rear mounted engine accessories exhibited deformation and discoloration consistent with thermal fire damage. The flap jackscrew was observed, and it did not exhibit any thread extension, which is consistent with retracted flaps.

The Office of the Lafayette County Coroner was asked to arrange an autopsy on the pilot and to have toxicological samples taken.

The No. 4 cylinder is being shipped to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory for further testing.

(Source: NTSB. Image from file)

FMI: Report