NTSB CEN21LA235 — 2021-05-22 · McAllen, Texas, United States

Current FAA registration · N999MA

Make / Model: CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture: 2005 · 16 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20050412
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ADF526

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N999MA Cessna 172 Minor

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with a runway sign.

Factual narrative

The solo student pilot reported he was making his third landing when the airplane bounced, exited the runway, and collided with a runway sign. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left horizontal stabilizer. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_CEN21LA235.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers