- Date
- October 2, 1995, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Decatur, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N152NDSocata TB-9
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 1, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951002030919A
- Case key
- 3663
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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an aborted takeoff attempt. A factor was the stripped throttle knob threads.
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.
Analysis
The student pilot reported that he lost directional control of the airplane during an aborted touch and go attempt. The directional control problem was compounded when the throttle knob came off of the throttle control as the student attempted to reduce engine power.
Factual narrative
On October 2, 1995, at 1730 central daylight time, a Socata TB-9, N152ND, nose gear collapsed after the student pilot lost control of the airplane during the go phase of a touch and go landing at Pryor Field in Decatur, Alabama. The supervised solo flight operated under the provisions of 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 flight departed Huntsville, Alabama, at 1700 hours.
According to the student pilot, this was his second supervised solo flight. He had completed one touchdown, and was on the go phase of the first of a series of touch and go landings. As the airplane accelerated for the takeoff, the airplane veered off the left side of runway 18. When the student pilot attempted to regain control of the airplane, the throttle knob came off the throttle control lever.
The student pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. Examination of the airplane also failed to disclose a mechanical problem. This aircraft is equipped with an arm type throttle control lever; the throttle lever was still fully operational without the knob assembly.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N152ND
- Reported as
- Socata TB-9
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1201
- Airframe hours
- 2,276
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- University Of North Dakota
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 8, 1995 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- HSV · Huntsville, AL
- Airport
- DCU · Pryor Field, runway 18, 5,096 × 150 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
- Pilot
- Age
- 35
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 32 total · 32 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HSV, 22 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.