NYC99LA196

The student pilot was on his first solo flight. He reported he touched down on the right main wheel first and the airplane pivoted rapidly to the right. When he regained directional control, the airplane was pointed toward a runway sign. He then elected to turn further right to avoid the sign. The runway sign struck the left horizontal stabilizer, and in addition, the rear empenage was damaged. This was the first student pilot the flight instructor had soloed. The winds were calm, and the student pilot's total flight experience was 21.4 hours.

On August 11, 1999, about 1400 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N65742, was substantially damaged while landing at Orange County Airport (MGJ), Montgomery, New York. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local solo training flight that originated from MGJ. No flight plan had been filed for the flight that was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to the student pilot, the flight started as a dual instruction flight. After completing about four or five landings and a balked landing, the flight instructor exited the airplane and the student pilot departed on his first solo flight.

The student pilot reported:

"...Final approach [to Runway 3] was normal - airspeed - altitude - descent were okay. Upon final I was making a slight adjustment and the planes right wheel had touched down. At this point the plane was steering to the right [and] I attempted to get the left wheel down and get the plane back on control. By the time, I had full control, I had a choice of either taking the plane nose first through the runway sign or steering just right of it. This is what I chose to do, trying to avoid striking something head on. I then took the plane right and the left stabilizer struck the sign...."

In a follow-up telephone interview, the student pilot reported he did not use full control to maintain directional control, and once the airplane had swerved, he elected to attempt to avoid the runway sign that was ahead of him.

According to an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration, the left horizontal stabilizer, and rear empennage were damaged. In addition, an examination of the student pilot's log book revealed that although his student pilot certificate had been endorsed for solo flight in the Cessna 172, not all required pilot logbook signoffs had been completed.

The flight instructor reported that he observed the landing and thought the airplane had touched down on both main wheels, and then veered off to the side of the runway. He felt that the student pilot had made good progress with takeoffs landings, and did not feel that he would have a problem when soloed. He reported his total flight experience as about 350 to 400 hours with about 150 hours as a flight instructor. The student pilot was the first pilot he had soloed.

The 1354 weather observation at MGJ reported calm winds.

The student pilot reported his total flight time as 21.4 hours.