- Date
- April 7, 2005, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Kalamazoo, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N985BTCessna 172R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 61502
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 pilot's failure to maintain directional control and the excessive taxispeed.
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 impacted terrain during an after landing taxiway excursion during a student solo flight. The student pilot stated that this was her first solo flight and during her first landing she exited the runway at "high speeds" and "almost flipped" the airplane. She stated that she tried correcting this and lost control of the airplane.
Factual narrative
On April 7, 2005, at 1215 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172R, N985BT, operated by Western Michigan University as an instructional airplane, impacted terrain during an after landing taxi on runway 05 (3,436 feet by 100 feet, grooved asphalt) at Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Visual meteorological condition prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 141 student solo flight was not operating on a flight plan. The student pilot was uninjured. The local flight originated from AZO at 1115.
The student pilot stated that this was her first solo flight and during her first landing she exited the runway at "high speeds" and "almost flipped" the airplane. She stated that she tried correcting this and lost control of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N985BT
- Reported as
- Cessna 172R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17280442
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Western Michigan University
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- AZO · Kalamazoo, MI
- Destination
- AZO · Kalamazoo, MI
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
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 21 total · 21 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day