- Date
- January 11, 2003, 12:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Mt. Pleasant, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5199HCessna 172S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- South Carolina FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030111006979A
- Case key
- 56330
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll, which resulted in a loss of control and collision with terrain.
Analysis
The student pilot attempted to takeoff for his first solo flight. As power was applied for the takeoff roll, the student pilot maintained alignment with the runway centerline. A few seconds later, the airplane moved slightly left of the centerline. The student pilot made corrections to align the airplane back onto the centerline. The airplane then rolled to the right of the centerline. The student pilot then attempted for the second time to correct the airplane by going to the left. The airplane oscillated from left to right and back, and then headed sharply 30 degrees to the left. The airplane then departed runway 35 where the nose wheel sank in soft ground and the airplane nosed over.
Factual narrative
On January 11, 2003, at 1220 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172, N5199H, registered to a private owner and operated by Coastal Aviation, collided and flipped inverted during an attempted takeoff from East Cooper Airport in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The instructional flight was operated under the provisions Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the student pilot was not injured. The accident occurred during the initial takeoff from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on January 11, 2003 at 1220.
The student pilot stated that this was his first solo flight. As power was applied for the takeoff roll, the student pilot maintained alignment with the runway centerline. A few seconds later into the takeoff roll, the airplane moved slightly left of the centerline. The student pilot made corrections to the right to align the airplane with the centerline. The airplane then rolled to the right of the centerline. The student pilot then attempted a second correction to the left. The airplane oscillated from left to right and back, and then rolled sharply 30 degrees to the left, and departed the runway surface. The nose wheel sank in soft ground and the airplane nosed over.
Examination of the airplane revealed propeller, left wing and strut, rudder, vertical fin and nose wheel cover damage. The student pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane before the accident. The post-accident examination of the airplane also failed to disclose a mechanical problem.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5199H
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S9094
- Airframe hours
- 285
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Coastal Aviation
- Registered owner
- Cs172 LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Mt. Pleasant, SC
- Airport
- 8S5 · East Cooper, runway 35, 3,500 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 22 total · 22 in this make and model · 0 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- CHS, 6 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 6, 2006, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 497 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.