Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 8; Flight Crew Total 450; Flight Crew Type 325
Other / Unknown; Training / Qualification
Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control; Ground Event / Encounter Object; Ground Excursion Runway
Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff
Airport; Human Factors
We were taking off on the ice runway. The wind was down the runway at approximately 5-7 KTS. The ice was clear with no snow. As I accelerated and pushed the throttle to the firewall I began to feel the loss of directional control. The plane began to yaw left and started skidding off the runway surface. After realizing I did not have the airspeed or directional control to rotate and lift the plane off the ice safely; I pulled the power and tapped the right brake. The tail of the aircraft then once again began to align with the nose. We rolled/skidded to a stop on the west side of the runway; but not until we had hit a stick that was standing up in the ice with our wing strut. This may have been a stick left by an ice fisherman; I'm not really sure. It was not a runway marker. The runway was marked by yellow cones. While there was no property damage or injury; there was a pickup truck on the ice. This vehicle was close to the runway and; for a short time; was in the path of our skidding plane. Fortunately some directional control was re-established before any contact was made.My mistake during this takeoff was applying the throttle too quickly. Instead I should have applied the throttle gradually and let the airspeed build slowly. This is the technique I used on the next attempt and the takeoff was smooth and uneventful. After successfully taking off I started to wonder if that stick had in anyway damaged the aircraft. So we quickly landed to do a complete visible inspection. No damage was found and the remainder of the flight home was also uneventful. In hindsight; while I was sure that the stick we hit did not impact the propeller; I should have shut the plane down and conducted a visual inspection of the plane prior to the next takeoff attempt. My recommendation to other pilots would be; in addition to applying the throttle gradually; be very aware of the runway environment outside of the runway surface. There are many spectators; ice fisherman; and vehicles on the ice while planes are taking off and landing. The ground crew does a great job of marshaling the arriving and departing aircraft but they cannot completely control all spectators! In my opinion the gentleman in the pickup truck was too close to the active runway.
C172 pilot taking off on an ice runway reports loosing directional control when full throttle is applied too early. Control is regained and the takeoff is rejected.