# NTSB WPR11LA211: Cessna 172, N4072F, Mesa, AZ, April 27, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 27, 2011, 15:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: Mesa, AZ - Coordinates: 33.45639, -111.723609 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4564&lon=-111.7236&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 6, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 78982 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR11LA211 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/78982/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=78982 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11LA211 ## Probable cause The student pilot's inadequate directional control during the landing roll. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 8 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 30 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 14 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot was performing the first of three planned touch-and-go landings and takeoffs. During the landing roll, the airplane began to drift to the left. The pilot applied right rudder input, and the airplane nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. Postaccident examination revealed evidence, including damage to the left side of the nose wheel rim and a bending overstress separation of the left steering rod tube, indicative of excessive side loading during landing. Further examination of the steering system did not reveal evidence of any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative On April 27, 2011, about 1500 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172, N4072F, nosed over after landing at Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona. The student pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The pilot was uninjured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The local flight departed Mesa about 1445. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot stated that he planned to perform three touch-and-go landings on runway 22R. During the first landing roll the airplane began to drift to the left. The pilot applied right rudder input, and the airplane nosed over. Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the left-hand steering tube rod end had separated from the nose gear steering assembly with the threaded portion remaining within the assembly. The rod end fitting was fractured through the shank between the locking nut and the head of the rod end. The inspector examined the remaining steering controls and reported no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The left side of the nose wheel rim exhibited scratches and scuffing. The rod end was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Office of Research and Engineering Materials Laboratory for examination. Magnified visual inspection revealed that the fracture was through the last full thread in the fitting shank. The fracture features and deformation patterns were consistent with a bending overstress separation, and no indication of preexisting cracking, such as fatigue, was present. The pilot reported a total flight time in all aircraft of 27 hours, all of which was flown in the accident airplane make and model. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4072F](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4072F-2013-09-03), registration cancelled 2013-09-03, S/N 36972, built 1958 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172 - Registry model: [Cessna 172](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (registry code 2072402) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 36972 - Airframe hours: 3284 - Engines: CONT MOTOR O-300 SERIES 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, March 23, 2011, 5 hours before - Departed: FFZ, Mesa, AZ - Destination: FFZ, Mesa, AZ - Airport: FFZ, Falcon Field Airport, runway 22R, 3,799 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 59; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 27 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 170° at 8 knots - Visibility: 40 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 3 °F - Altimeter: 29.94 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20110427007999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110427007999A), Apr 27, 2011: Cessna 172, Mesa, AZ, Substantial damage. 34 Hour student pilot was practicing touch and go's and on roll out began dragging right wing tip. After multiple prop strikes, the aircraft nosed over on its… ## Docket (10 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 19, 2011, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=78982. 4.3 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 397 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359557&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Photo 1 – Vertical Stabilizer and Rudder Damage (item 2, .PDF, 212 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359551&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%20%E2%80%93%20Vertical%20Stabilizer%20and%20Rudder%20Damage-Master.PDF - Photo 2 - Nose Wheel (item 3, .PDF, 216 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359552&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%20-%20Nose%20Wheel-Master.PDF - Photo 3 - Steering Assembly (item 4, .PDF, 82 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359553&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%203%20-%20Steering%20Assembly-Master.PDF - Photo 4 – Rod End (item 5, .PDF, 236 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359554&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%204%20%E2%80%93%20Rod%20End-Master.PDF - Photo 5 – Rod End (item 6, .PDF, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359555&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%205%20%E2%80%93%20Rod%20End-Master.PDF - Photo 6 – Airplane on Runway - Photo obtained from, and annotated by the Pilot (item 7, .PDF, 369 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359556&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%206%20%E2%80%93%20Airplane%20on%20Runway%20-%20Photo%20obtained%20from,%20and%20annotated%20by%20the%20Pilot-Master.PDF - NTSB Metallurgist Factual Statement (item 8, .PDF, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359559&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=NTSB%20Metallurgist%20Factual%20Statement-Master.PDF - Cessna Service Manual Excerpt (item 9, .PDF, 308 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359561&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Cessna%20Service%20Manual%20Excerpt-Master.PDF - Evidence Control Form (item 10, .PDF, 92 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40359560&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Evidence%20Control%20Form-Redacted.PDF 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.