# Incident 20180218002759I: Cessna 172P, West Lafayette, IN, February 18, 2018

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 18, 2018, 18:15 local time
- Place: West Lafayette, IN
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Departure Roll
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.4437° N, 86.9236° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of West Lafayette, IN, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.4437&lon=-86.9236&mi=10
- Aircraft: N51204, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N51204) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172P (registry code 2072436, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 17 total, 17 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180218002759I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

DESCRIPTION:

N51204 STRUCK A RUNWAY LIGHT AFTER THE PILOT FAILED TO CORRECT FOR THE LEFT TURNING TENDENCIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE TAKEOFF ROLL

CASUAL/CONTRIBUTING FACTORS:

THE PILOTS IMPROPER USE OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE RISK:

I RECOMMEND THAT THE STUDENT PILOT TRAINING CONTINUES.

ACTION TAKEN TO CORRECT PROBLEM:

BOTH THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PILOT WERE PROVIDED  VERBAL COUNSELING

PTRS RECORD ID:

GL11201802372

COMMENTS:

ONE RUNWAY LIGHT WAS DAMAGED AND THERE WAS MINOR DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. THE TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED BY THE STUDENT PILOT, AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOWED TO THE RAMP.

ROOT CAUSE: RC4

## Other reports on N51204 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20260128001279A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260128001279A), Jan 28, 2026: Cessna 172P (N51204), Lafayette, IN, Substantial damage. Cessna 172P departed klaf in VMC conditions on an instructional flight. Instructor and student practiced flight manuevers and numerous power off stall…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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