# NTSB LAX99LA031: Cessna 172N, N733AM, Lancaster, CA, November 14, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 14, 1998, 10:32 local (18:32 UTC) - Place: Lancaster, CA - Location: 34.7411° N, 118.2186° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at GENERAL WM J FOX AIRFIELD (WJF), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7411&lon=-118.2186&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 3, 1999 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 45326 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX99LA031 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45326/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA031 ## Probable cause The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the aircraft. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, takeoff - roll/run - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - Nose over, takeoff - aborted - terrain condition - berm ## Analysis The student pilot lost control and veered off the runway to the left during the takeoff roll. He attempted to abort the takeoff by reducing power and applying brakes, but the aircraft continued off the runway into the scrub brush. The nose gear impacted a berm and the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airport weather observation was reporting calm wind conditions at the time of the accident. The flight instructor who flew the aircraft right before the accident reported that he had not noted any discrepancies with the aircraft, nor were any found during the subsequent postaccident examination. The accident flight was the student pilot's second supervised solo flight. ## Factual narrative On November 14, 1998, at 1032 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N733AM, veered off the side of the runway during the takeoff ground roll at the General Wm. J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster, California. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The local flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as an instructional flight and originated at the Whiteman Airport, Pacoima, California, at 0915. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The student pilot reported that he, another student pilot, and a certified flight instructor had flown together to Fox Airfield so the two student pilots could practice traffic patterns at an unfamiliar airport. He reported that he performed some landings with the instructor still onboard, then he dropped the others off. This flight was the student pilot's second supervised solo flight. He began practicing touch-and-go landings to runway 24. During the second takeoff, he felt the airplane turn left, but he was not able to correct with right rudder. He reported that he was near midfield and at rotation speed, so he lifted off and planned to regain directional control once he was airborne. He landed and applied power to take off again, but the aircraft veered to the left. The pilot stated that he applied right rudder, but could not bring the aircraft back to the right. As he neared midfield, he attempted to abort the takeoff by reducing the power and applying the brakes. The aircraft continued to the left off the runway and through the scrub brush. The pilot reported that the aircraft continued, without slowing down, until the nose gear impacted a dirt berm that runs parallel to the taxiway. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airport weather observation was reporting calm wind conditions at the time of the accident. According to the school's chief pilot, the flight instructor who had flown the aircraft right before the accident noted no mechanical discrepancies. He further reported that subsequent postaccident examination of the aircraft did not reveal any mechanical discrepancies or anomalies. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N733AM](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N733AM), registered now, S/N 17268145, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172N - Registry model: [Cessna 172N](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (registry code 2072434) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17268145 - Airframe hours: 2726 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-H2AD 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Glendale Community College - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, October 21, 1998, 34 hours before - Departed: WHP, PACOIMA, CA - Airport: WJF, General Fox Airfield, runway 24, 5,001 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 31; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 17 total, 15 in this make and model, 14 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 50 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 54 °F, dew point 30 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: WJF ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19981114031779A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981114031779A), Nov 14, 1998: Cessna 172N, Lancaster, CA, Substantial damage. (.19)On November 14, 1998, at 1032 hours pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N733AM, veered off the side of the runway after landing at the general wm. J.… ## Other investigations on N733AM (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB LAX03LA053](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA053), Dec 21, 2002: Cessna 172N (N733AM), Pacoima, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: the student pilot's excessive use of the elevator control that resulted in an inadvertent lift-off and his failure to maintain/attain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall and hard landing. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.