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Atlas / NTSB / CEN20CA128

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN20CA128

2020-03-18 Denver, Colorado, United States Airport · BJC None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N1132W

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 172S

Year of manufacture

2006 · 14 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20060223

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A03A0B

Registrant of record

C FLYING K AVIATION LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's incorrect right rudder application during a touch-and go-landing, which resulted in a loss of directional control, runway excursion, and a collision with a runway sign.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, during the first touch and go landing of the day, she landed on the runway with 30° of flaps. She prepared to take off again and retracted the flaps and added engine power. The airplane veered to the left and the pilot retarded the throttle and applied right rudder. The pilot affirmed that she "didn't supply adequate rudder," and the airplane exited the left side of the runway and collided with the runway sign. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower left fuselage longeron. According to the pilot, she was preparing to take off for a second touch-and-go landing and retracted the flaps and added engine power. The airplane veered left, and the pilot retarded the throttle and applied right rudder. The pilot affirmed that she "didn't supply adequate rudder," and the airplane exited the left side of the runway and impacted a runway sign. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower left fuselage longeron. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-Rudder control system-Incorrect use/operation - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Sign/marker-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_CEN20CA128.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗