# NTSB CEN20CA393: Cessna 172, N7562F, Houston, TX, September 13, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 13, 2020, 15:35 local (20:35 UTC) - Place: Houston, TX - Coordinates: 29.521389, -95.242225 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.5214&lon=-95.2422&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - Houston FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 101967 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN20CA393 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101967/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101967 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20CA393 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control upon landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 82 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 150 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 81 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 81 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Cessna 172N, 44 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2072434), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot and his flight instructor were on an instructional flight when the airplane suddenly veered to the right upon landing. The flight instructor stated that his student had simply lost control upon touchdown. The flight instructor reported that he took control of the airplane from his student, but he was unable to regain directional control of the airplane before it departed off the right side of the runway and nosed over. The engine mount, left wing strut, left wing main spar, vertical stabilizer, and the rudder were substantially damaged. The flight instructor reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded its normal operation. The student pilot reported that they had completed 3 uneventful landings before the accident. The student pilot had observed some stiffness in the rudder system during his preflight inspection, the rudder did not self-center while on the ground at slow speeds, and that the cockpit floor carpet was loose and had to be repositioned several times during the flight. An examination of the airplane wreckage revealed impact-related damage to the rudder that precluded its movement, but there were no additional flight control issues observed. Examination revealed the cockpit floor carpet was loose and bunched-up, but it could not be determined if it had contributed to the loss of directional control or had become unsecured while the pilots made their emergency exit following the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7562F](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7562F), registered now, S/N 17273260, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172 (N) - Registry model: [Cessna 172N](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (registry code 2072434) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O-320-H2AD](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-320-h2ad) (registry code 42131, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17273260 - Year built: 1980 - Airframe hours: 6324.5 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-H2AD 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Coastal Skies Aero Club - Registered owner: Green Airports Development Corporation - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, September 3, 2020 - Departed: AXH, Houston, TX - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: LVJ, Pearland Regional Airport, runway 14, 4,313 × 75 ft, concrete - Equipment: ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 83; injuries: none; airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review February 12, 2019; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 28,580 total, 2,000 in this make and model, 28,270 as pilot in command, 200 in the last 90 days, 90 in the last 30 days, 8 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 41; injuries: minor; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 22.5 total, 15.1 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 40° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 11,000 ft broken - Temperature: 93 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 29.87 inHg - Turbulence: Unknown - Observed at: LVJ ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20200913012429A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200913012429A), Sep 13, 2020: Cessna 172N, Pearland, TX, Substantial damage. N7562F training flight with 02 pilots (01 instructor, 01 student pilot) onboard originated from Pearland regional airport (lvj), Pearland, TX, with a… ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 21, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101967. 2.3 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11664589&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=01%20-%20Pilot%20Report_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Student pilot statement (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 165 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11663283&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=02%20-%20Student%20Pilot%20Statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Email summary of conversation with flight instructor (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 222 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11664754&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=03%20-%20Memorandum%20of%20Conversation_Redacted-Rel.pdf - FAA inspector wreckage examination summary (item 4, PDF, 2 pages, 230 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11664452&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=04%20-%20FAA%20Inspector%20Wreckage%20Examination%20Summary_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Weather data (item 5, PDF, 1 page, 104 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11664640&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=05%20-%20Weather%20Reports-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 6, PDF, 3 pages, 3 photos, 488 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11664316&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=06%20-%20Photos-Rel.pdf 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. --- 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.