# Accident 20241231019509A: Cessna 172N, Anchorage, AK, December 31, 2024

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 31, 2024, 14:00 local time
- Place: Anchorage, AK
- Airport: Merrill Field
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
- Operator: AA4S
- Location: 61.2157° N, 149.8427° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.2157&lon=-149.8427&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3552E, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3552E) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 23 total, 23 in this make and model, 23 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC25LA014](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC25LA014) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241231019509A

## Narrative

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

ON DECEMBER 31, 2024, AT APPROXIMATELY 1400, A CESSNA 172 PILOTED BY A PART 61 STUDENT PILOT TAKING TRAINING THROUGH A PART 141 PILOT SCHOOL ON HER FIRST LANDING OF HER FIRST SOLO FLIGHT LOST CONTROL DURING THE TAKEOFF PORTION OF A TOUCH AND GO MANEUVER. PRIOR TO THE SOLO FLIGHT, THE INSTRUCTOR INSTRUCTED THE STUDENT TO PERFORM THREE TOUCH AND GO LANDING/TAKEOFF MANEUVERS THEN LAND FULL-STOP. ON THE FIRST LANDING THE LANDING APPEARED TO BE WITHOUT EVENT. DURING THE CLEANUP PORTION OF THE TOUCH AND GO THE AIRPLANE VEERED TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. WHEN THE STUDENT BROUGHT IN FULL POWER THE PILOT STATED THAT SHE MAY HAVE OVER COMPENSATED WITH LEFT RUDDER CAUSING THE AIRPLANE TO VEER TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY SHARPLY AS NOTED IN THAT THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR LEFT THE SURFACE. THE PILOT THEN ADDED RIGHT CONTROL INPUTS CAUSING THE AIRPLANE TO TURN RIGHT AND THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR TO RETURN TO THE RUNWAY SURFACE. THE AIRPLANE LEFT THE RUNWAY TO A PACKED SNOW SURFACE AND TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 30 FEET UNTIL THE AIRPLANE FLIPPED ON ITS TAIL WITH THE ENGINE STILL AT FULL POWER.

PHOTOS OF THE TIRE TRACKS INDICATE THAT THERE WAS SOME ICE ON THE RUNWAY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ANC25LA014](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC25LA014), Dec 31, 2024: Cessna 172N (N3552E), Anchorage, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during touch-and-go operations on an ice-covered runway during her first solo flight.

## Other reports on N3552E (3)

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

- [Incident 20130420008499I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130420008499I), Apr 20, 2013: Cessna 172N (N3552E), Albuquerque, NM, Minor damage. On April 20, 2013, at 0829 MDT, a Cessna 172-N, N3552E, registered to [privacy data omitted], made a successful off airport landing in the rio puerco valley,…
- [Incident 20050508006989I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050508006989I), May 8, 2005: Cessna 172N (N3552E), Santa Fe, NM. (-23) On may 8, 2005, at 1519 mdst, a Cessna 172, N3552E, registered to aero meridian inc. landed in a field 7 nautical miles south southwest of the Santa Fe,…
- [Incident 19790725021879I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19790725021879I), Jul 25, 1979: Cessna 172 (N3552E), Rattlesnake Isl, OH, Minor damage. Pilot landed long on rough sod and ran off end of runway.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.