- Date
- June 8, 2016, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cornelia, GA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N444WMCessna 172
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 5, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20160608020229A
- Case key
- 93384
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 unnecessary pedal application and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action resulting in a loss of directional control, runway excursion and ground impact during the aborted landing.
Findings · 6
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 flight instructor reported that this was her fifth instructional flight with the student and that they were practicing takeoffs and landings in the pattern. She recalled that the previous landing accomplished by the student was "squirrelly." She reported that she reminded the student pilot "how/why not to use the pedals during the landing roll, and to stay off of the brakes." She recalled that the student completed the next approach and landing and both were stable. However, during the landing roll the airplane made an abrupt right turn, and exited the right side of the runway about the midpoint of the 5500 foot long by 100 foot wide runway. The flight instructor reported that she did not believe that she would be able to bring the airplane back to the left and aborted the landing. However, the airplane struck rising terrain, entered a 360 degree turn and struck an embankment. The flight instructor asked the student if he had his feet on the pedals during the landing roll, and he replied "I think so." The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with any portion of the airplane during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operations.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor reported that this was her fifth instructional flight with the student and that they were practicing takeoffs and landings in the pattern. She recalled that the previous landing accomplished by the student was "squirrelly." She reported that she reminded the student pilot "how/why not to use the pedals during the landing roll, and to stay off of the brakes." She recalled that the student completed the next approach and landing and both were stable. However, during the landing roll the airplane made an abrupt right turn, and exited the right side of the runway about the midpoint of the 5500 foot long by 100 foot wide runway. The flight instructor reported that she did not believe that she would be able to bring the airplane back to the left and aborted the landing. However, the airplane struck rising terrain, entered a 360 degree turn and struck an embankment. The flight instructor asked the student if he had his feet on the pedals during the landing roll, and he replied "I think so." The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with any portion of the airplane during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N444WM
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (N)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-68249
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 1,729
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Ray and Brenda Reed, doing business as Blue Sky Aviation
- Registered owner
- Allen, Max R.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 4, 2016
- Departed
- AJR · Cornelia, GA
- Destination
- AJR · Cornelia, GA
- Airport
- AJR · Habersham County, runway 24, 5,506 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 12, 2014
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,376 total · 700 in this make and model · 2,310 as pilot in command · 57 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 18
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 6 total · 1 in this make and model · 6 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- KTOC, 14 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 11, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.