# NTSB WPR24LA191: Cessna 172S, N17304, Prescott, AZ, May 18, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: May 18, 2024, 08:00 local (15:00 UTC) - Place: Prescott, AZ - Coordinates: 34.641687, -112.42878 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.6417&lon=-112.4288&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 194455 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR24LA191 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194455/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194455 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24LA191 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing following an aborted takeoff which resulted in a runway excursion and impact with a ditch. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot; cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 14 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained; cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 66 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 76 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 77 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 118 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot reported that during a takeoff, while about 3 to 5 ft above the ground, a couple of birds flew across the windscreen. The student pilot aborted the takeoff to land on the remaining runway. The airplane descended onto the runway and veered to the left, exited the runway, across the taxiway and impacted a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer. The student pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N17304](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N17304), registered now, S/N 172S10643, built 2007 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172S - Registry model: [Cessna 172S](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (registry code 2072439) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-L2A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-l2a) (registry code 41597, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 172S10643 - Year built: 2007 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: North Aire Aviation LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: PRC, Prescott Regional Airport - Earnest A. Love Field, runway 21L, 7,619 × 150 ft, asphalt - Equipment: None ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 32; injuries: none; student; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 62.2 total, 62.2 in this make and model, 15.1 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 39 °F - Altimeter: 30.09 inHg - Observed at: KPRC, 1 nm away - METAR: METAR KPRC 181453Z 17004KT 10SM CLR 21/04 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP110 ACFT MSHAP T02060039 51013= ## 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 20240518005859A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240518005859A), May 18, 2024: Cessna 172S, Prescott, AZ, Substantial damage. Student pilot was on a student solo performing touch-and-go landings. The student had completed seven (7) of the eight (8) touch-and-go landings that he was… ## Other investigations on N17304 (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 WPR12CA171](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12CA171), Apr 12, 2012: Cessna 172S (N17304), Prescott, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate compensation for a crosswind during takeoff, which resulted in a loss of directional control. ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 12, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194455. 41.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 7 pages, 35.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17345262&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Form%206120.1_signed_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 5.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18259507&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photos%20for%20WPR24LA191_Redacted-Rel.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.