- Date
- October 23, 2004, 13:48 local (20:48 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N856ERCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20041023034879A
- Case key
- 60421
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 of the airplane during a 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 airplane veered off the runway and collapsed the nose landing gear during the takeoff portion of a touch-and-go landing. The airplane drifted to the left side of the runway after the pilot applied power. He added right rudder in an attempt to compensate, but the airplane continued to the left. The pilot added brake pressure as the airplane left the paved surface and the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot indicated he should apply right rudder in preparation for full-throttle application to maintain control of the airplane and prevent another accident.
Factual narrative
On October 23, 2004, at 1348 mountain standard time, a Cessna 152 single engine airplane, N856ER, veered off the runway and collapsed the nose landing gear during a touch-and-go takeoff at Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, Eagle's Roost Aviation, Mesa, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a solo instructional flight. The airplane was substantially damaged. The student pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the local flight that originated approximately 1330.
According to the student pilot, he was on his initial solo flight conducting touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. During the last takeoff from runway 22R, the student pilot applied full throttle. The airplane started to drift to the left side of the runway. The pilot applied right rudder to compensate, but the airplane continued drifting to the left. He added brake pressure, which only resulted in the airplane nosing down after it left the runway surface. According to first responders, the nose wheel was torn from the airplane and came to rest 30 feet from the airplane's final resting place. The cowling was crushed and compressed, and the firewall sustained damage.
The wind at the time of the accident was from 170 degrees at 8 knots.
The pilot accumulated a total of 32.2 hours of flight time at the time of the accident. In the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB 6120.1/2), under the section titled "Recommendation (How Could This Accident Have Been Prevented)," the pilot wrote that he needed "to apply the right rudder in preparation for full-throttle to maintain control of the airplane."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N856ER
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15281981
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Eagle's Roost Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Departed
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Airport
- FFZ · Falcon Field, runway 22R, 3,801 × 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 47
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 32 total · 32 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- FFZ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.