Event CEN20LA425

Factual narrative

On September 29, 2020, about 1400 central daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N75634, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Spring, Texas. The student pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.   The student pilot and his flight instructor completed three touch-and-go landings before the student pilot departed on a solo flight. The student pilot performed two uneventful full-stop landings. The student pilot reported the airplane yawed ‘strongly’ to the left and banked left upon reaching an altitude of 100 - 200 ft above ground level on the third takeoff. He was unable to maintain control of the airplane to return to the runway and performed a forced landing on a field. The airplane hit a drainage ditch and incurred substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane flight control system revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal airplane operation. The student pilot and his flight instructor completed three touch-and-go landings before the student pilot departed on a solo flight. The student performed two uneventful full-stop landings. He reported that on the third takeoff, after reaching an altitude of 100 – 200 ft above ground level, the airplane yawed and rolled to the left. He was unable to maintain control of the airplane and subsequently performed a forced landing on a baseball field. The airplane contacted a drainage ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane flight control system revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal airplane operation. 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).

• — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained