- Date
- January 24, 2011, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Corsicana, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N81800Aeronca 7AC
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20110124000899A
- Case key
- 78208
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 landing.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The student pilot was on his first solo cross-country flight in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. While landing at his destination airport, the airplane swerved to the left and the student pilot attempted to regain directional control, but was unable. The airplane exited the side of the runway and nosed over, coming to rest in an inverted position. The airplane’s right wing and right wing struts sustained substantial damage during the accident. The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The student pilot was on his first solo cross-country flight in a tailwheel equipped airplane. While landing to runway 17 at his destination airport, the airplane swerved to the left and the student pilot attempted to regain directional control, but was unable. The airplane exited the side of the runway and nosed over; coming to rest in an inverted position. The airplane’s right wing and right wing struts sustained structural damage during the accident. The winds were reported to be from 020 degrees at 6 knots at the time of the mishap. The student pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81800
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC423
- Airframe hours
- 3,115
- Engine
- Teledyne Continental Motors C-85, 85 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Flywithrobert LLC
- Registered owner
- Flywithrobert LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 23, 2010
- Departed
- FWS · Fort Worth, TX
- Destination
- CRS · Corsicana, TX
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- CRS · Corsicana Municipal, runway 14, 5,004 × 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
- 30
- Injuries
- None
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 28 total · 28 in this make and model · 21 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- CRS
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 9, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.8 MB 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.
Other investigations on N81800 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.