- Date
- March 18, 2024, 17:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Aitkin, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N788JNCirrus Design SR20
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- 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
- FAA report
- 20240318002389A
- Case key
- 193964
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 the takeoff in crosswind conditions.
Findings · 3
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 reported that during rotation, “all of a sudden the back of the plane kicked to the right and at the same time caused me to takeoff [to] the left.” He attempted to abort the takeoff; however, the airplane impacted marsh terrain adjacent to the left side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to right wing and main wing spar. He reported that he was aware of crosswind conditions at the time of the takeoff but not too concerned because he had landed and took off in those conditions on previous flights. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N788JN
- Reported as
- Cirrus Design SR20
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1427
- Built
- 2004
- Airframe hours
- 3,600
- Engine
- Continental IO-360-ES, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 13, 2024
- Destination
- 9WN2 · Voyageur Village, MN
- Airport
- AIT · Aitkin Muni/Steve Kurtz Fld, runway 16/34, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, Airframe parachute, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 46.6 total · 40.5 in this make and model · 40.5 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 8 knots
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 30, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 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.