- Date
- March 5, 2003, 15:28 local (21:28 UTC)
- Place
- St. Paul, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N35307Cessna 172R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Minneapolis-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030305001859A
- Case key
- 56632
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 loss of directional control by the solo student pilot. A factor to the accident was the excessive speed during landing.
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 airplane was damaged when it departed the runway and nosed over during a student solo flight. A report submitted by the airplane operator and signed by the pilot states that, on landing, the student pilot lost directional control and departed the right side of the runway. The report further states that the "airplane may have been fast on approach, and subsequently landed flat and fast." No preexisting mechanical defects were found during a postaccident examination of the airplane. The student pilot had a total of 37.5 hours of flight experience.
Factual narrative
On March 5, 2003, at 1528 central standard time, a Cessna 172R, N35307, piloted by a solo student pilot, sustained substantial damage during landing at the South St. Paul Municipal Airport, South St. Paul, Minnesota. The airplane departed the runway and nosed over. The 14 CFR Part 91 local flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The student pilot was not injured. The local flight originated at 1430.
A report submitted by the airplane operator and signed by the pilot states that, on landing, the student pilot lost directional control and departed the right side of the runway. After leaving the runway, the airplane nosed over and came to rest upside down. The report further states that the "airplane may have been fast on approach, and subsequently landed flat and fast."
No preexisting mechanical defects were found during a postaccident examination of the airplane.
The student pilot had a total of 37.5 hours of flight experience.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N35307
- Reported as
- Cessna 172R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17281009
- Airframe hours
- 1,082.3
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wings, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 13, 2003
- Departed
- SGS · St. Paul, MN
- Airport
- SGS · South St. Paul Municipal Airpo, runway 16, 4,001 × 100 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 17
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 38 total · 38 in this make and model · 2 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 0 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 16 °F, dew point -8 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- SGS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.