NTSB CEN23LA102 — 2023-02-01 · Limon, Colorado, United States

Current FAA registration · N5163H

Make / Model: CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture: 2001 · 22 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20011205
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A67A82

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N5163H Cessna 172S None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that he was performing touch-and-go landings. When he added power to take off, he lost control of the airplane as it veered left. He was unable to regain control before the airplane impacted a snowbank. The airplane flipped over and came to rest inverted on the side of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing on Runway 34 with wind from 350°at 4 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_CEN23LA102.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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