- Date
- June 9, 2008, 10:20 local (14:20 UTC)
- Place
- Athens, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N230UCessna 172P
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbus, Ohio
- FAA report
- 20080609844119A
- Case key
- 68219
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 landing. A factor contributing to the accident was a nose wheel vibration.
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 airplane was substantially damaged when it departed the paved runway surface and struck a ditch, resulting in damage to the firewall and forward fuselage. The student pilot reported that the accident flight was his first solo flight without an instructor aboard. Immediately prior to the accident flight, the student and his instructor had made a flight which included landing practice. Subsequent to the accident flight, the instructor endorsed the student pilot's logbook authorizing the solo flight. The student pilot reported that he flew a traffic pattern approach to landing. After touchdown, he inadvertently added power to do a touch and go rather than a full stop landing. Upon realizing that he was to make a full stop landing, he reduced power and applied the brakes. He reported that the nose wheel began to shimmy, and he applied the brakes harder. The airplane subsequently went off the side of the runway into the grass, and struck a ditch before coming to a stop.
Factual narrative
The airplane was substantially damaged when it departed the paved runway surface and then struck a ditch. The nose landing was torn from the airplane resulting in damage to the firewall and forward fuselage. The student pilot reported that the accident flight was his first solo flight without an instructor pilot on-board. Immediately prior to the accident flight the student and his instructor had performed a flight which included landing practice. Subsequent to this flight, the instructor pilot endorsed the student pilot's logbook authorizing the solo flight. The student pilot reported that he then took off and flew a traffic pattern approach to landing. After touchdown, the student pilot inadvertently added power to execute a touch and go rather than the full stop landing. Upon realizing that he was to execute a full stop landing, the student pilot reduced power and applied the brakes. He reported that the nose wheel began to shimmy and he applied the brakes harder. The airplane subsequently went off the side of the runway into the grass and then struck a ditch before coming to a stop.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N230U
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17275380
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ohio University
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- UNI · Athens, OH
- Airport
- UNI · Ohio University, runway 25, 5,600 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 22
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 13 total · 13 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.