- Date
- October 17, 2016, 08:00 local (12:00 UTC)
- Place
- Miami, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N46953Cessna 152
- Defining event
- Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 18, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20161017018169A
- Case key
- 94275
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 aborted takeoff, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Findings · 5
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 solo student pilot reported that after a normal taxi and run-up, he aligned the airplane on the runway centerline and started the takeoff roll. He further reported that he attempted to rotate the airplane at 50 knots and then again at 65 knots, but the airplane "couldn't takeoff." The student pilot subsequently reduced the power to idle and applied the brakes to abort the takeoff. During the aborted takeoff, the airplane veered off the runway to the left and encountered high grass and a water retention lake about 635 feet from the runway centerline. The student pilot reported that the airplane "wouldn't respond" to his control inputs during the aborted takeoff. The left wing sustained substantial damage. The operator reported in the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/ Operator Aircraft Accident Report that the student pilot "rotated too early and got fixated on the airspeed indicator. Then the left brake was touched causing the airplane to veer to the left." The Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector reported that he completed a postaccident examination of the airplane and found that the brakes were functional and confirmed flight control continuity.
Factual narrative
The solo student pilot reported that after a normal taxi and run-up, he aligned the airplane on the runway centerline and started the takeoff roll. He further reported that he attempted to rotate the airplane at 50 knots and then again at 65 knots, but the airplane "couldn't takeoff." The student pilot subsequently reduced the power to idle and applied the brakes to abort the takeoff. During the aborted takeoff, the airplane veered off the runway to the left and encountered high grass and a water retention lake about 635 feet from the runway centerline. The student pilot reported that the airplane "wouldn't respond" to his control inputs during the aborted takeoff. The left wing sustained substantial damage. The operator reported in the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/ Operator Aircraft Accident Report that the student pilot "rotated too early and got fixated on the airspeed indicator. Then the left brake was touched causing the airplane to veer to the left." The Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector reported that he completed a postaccident examination of the airplane and found that the brakes were functional and confirmed flight control continuity.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N46953
- Reported as
- Cessna 152 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15283149
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 8,302.3
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Dean International Inc.
- Registered owner
- R & E Airways Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 9, 2016
- Departed
- TMB · Miami, FL
- Destination
- IMM · Immokalee, FL
- Airport
- TMB · Miami Executive, runway 09L, 5,003 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 23
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 47 total · 47 in this make and model · 2.4 as pilot in command · 47 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KTMB
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 15, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.0 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.