NTSB CEN23LA176 — 2023-04-28 · Nacogdoches, Texas, United States

Current FAA registration · N52602

Make / Model: CESSNA 172P
Year of manufacture: 1980 · 43 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19810112
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A6A1AB

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N52602 Cessna 172P None

Probable cause & findings

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

Factual narrative

The student pilot stated he touched down and began to porpoise. The airplane began to slide to the right towards the runway edge. The student pilot’s attempt to stop was unsuccessful and the airplane exited the runway. During the runway excursion, the airplane nosed over which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures 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_2023_CEN23LA176.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