- Date
- March 5, 2024, 17:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lubbock, TX · runway
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N603LHPiper PA-28-140
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20240305001799I
- Case key
- 193911
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 a touch-and-go.
Findings · 2
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
After the student pilot completed three successful takeoff and landings with his instructor, he began his initial solo flight. The first takeoff and landing were uneventful. Following the second approach, the student pilot made a successful landing and initiated a touch-and-go by advancing the throttle to maximum power. The student pilot noted that once the airplane reached rotation speed and he added aft control pressure, the nose wheel began to lift and bounce during rotation. The airplane veered left and exited the left side of the runway. The right wing impacted the runway which resulted in substantial damage. The airplane came to rest upright in the grass adjacent to the runway. The student pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N603LH
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-20030
- Built
- 1964
- Airframe hours
- 2,661
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 140 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Hub City Aviation Academy LLC, doing business as Hub City Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 12, 2023 · 92 hours before
- Departed
- KLBB · Lubbock, TX
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- LBB · Lubbock Preston Smith International, runway 17R, 11,500 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, ADS-B
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
- 20
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 15.2 total · 12.2 in this make and model · 7.3 in the last 90 days · 7.3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KLBB, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KLBB 052330Z AUTO 13016KT 10SM CLR 21/01 A2990 RMK T02100010 MADISHF
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 12, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.3 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.