- Date
- March 6, 1999, 14:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Orange, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5803ECessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 23, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990306002079A
- Case key
- 45873
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 touchdown. A factor was the muddy drainage ditch.
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 lost control of the airplane during a touch-and-go landing. The student reported that on his first attempted landing, he had applied right rudder to compensate for 'a small amount of westerly wind.' 'Immediately upon touchdown, the plane veered hard to the right and off of the runway.' He applied 'full power, raised flaps, removed carburetor heat and climbed out.' During the second touchdown, the aircraft veered right, and exited the runway. After exiting the runway, the aircraft encountered mud in a shallow ditch, and the nose gear separated. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted.
Factual narrative
On March 6, 1999, at 1445 central standard time, a Cessna 172N airplane, N5803E, was substantially damaged during landing at the Orange County Airport, Orange, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 solo instructional flight. The airplane was registered to and operated by Baldwin Aviation, Inc. of Orange, Texas. The student pilot, sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured. The local flight originated at 1415.
The student pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2, that he was practicing touch-and-go landings on runway 04. On the first landing, he had applied right rudder to compensate for "a small amount of westerly wind. Immediately upon touchdown, the plane veered hard to the right and off of the runway. I distinctly remember hearing the stall indicator, so I feel like the plane must have been in a nose up attitude." He applied "full power, raised flaps, removed carburetor heat and climbed out to the east." During the second touchdown, the aircraft veered right, and exited the runway. After exiting the runway, the aircraft encountered mud in a "small shallow drainage depression (shallow ditch)," and the nose gear separated. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted.
The student pilot reported that the winds were light and variable at the time of the accident.
Examination of the aircraft by the operator revealed that the firewall, vertical stabilizer, and both wings were damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5803E
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17271938
- Airframe hours
- 1,393
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Baldwin Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 25, 1999 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- ORG
- Airport
- ORG · Orange County, runway 4, 4,396 × 75 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
- 62
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 24 total · 24 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Observed at
- BPT, 13 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.