- Date
- September 21, 1998, 17:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- West Lafayette, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N94286Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980921026009A
- Case key
- 44045
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 touch and go takeoff.
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 student pilot was performing a touch and go. During the maneuver, he landed hard. During the takeoff, at approximately 40 to 45 knots, the airplane quickly swerved to the left. The student pilot said that he 'stepped on the right rudder and tried to control the airplane, but couldn't.' The airplane went through the grass, hit the nose and stopped. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
On September 21, 1998, at 1745 eastern standard time (est), a Cessna, 152, N94286, operated by a solo student pilot, sustained substantial damage when during a touch-and-go takeoff, the airplane veered left off of the runway and impacted into a ditch. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. There was no flight plan on file. The student pilot reported no injuries. The local flight originated at West Lafayette, Indiana, at 1730 est.
In his written statement, the student pilot said that he was performing a touch and go. During the maneuver, he landed hard. During the takeoff, at approximately 40 to 45 knots, the airplane quickly swerved to the left. The student pilot said that he "stepped on the right rudder and tried to control the airplane, but couldn't." The airplane went through the grass, hit the nose and stopped.
The student pilot's instructor said that he observed the airplane make a normal landing on the runway. He saw the airplane slow down and heard the power applied. The instructor pilot said that he then saw the airplane turn 90 degrees to the left and depart the runway. The airplane went through the grass, crossed the airport's other runway, went through more grass until coming to a ditch. The airplane tilted forward on its nose and left wingtip, coming to a stop.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane at the Purdue University Airport. The airplane's left wingtip was crushed inward and aft. The left wing's rear spar was bent aft and up. The nose gear was bent aft. The lower engine mount was broken. Both propeller blades were bent aft. Flight control continuity was confirmed. No anomalies were revealed in the engine, engine controls, or other airplane systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94286
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285639
- Airframe hours
- 6,655
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-N2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lafayette Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 3, 1998 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- LAF
- Airport
- LAF · Purdue University Airport, runway 5, 4,226 × 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
- 31
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 29 total · 29 in this make and model · 29 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAF, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.