NTSB CEN24LA138 — 2024-03-18 · Aitkin, Minnesota, United States

Current FAA registration · N788JN

Make / Model: CIRRUS DESIGN SR20
Year of manufacture: 2004 · 20 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR IO-360 SER (300 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20040716
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S AAAF13

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N788JN CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR20 None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff in crosswind conditions.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that during rotation, “all of a sudden the back of the plane kicked to the right and at the same time caused me to takeoff [to] the left.” He attempted to abort the takeoff; however, the airplane impacted marsh terrain adjacent to the left side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to right wing and main wing spar. He reported that he was aware of crosswind conditions at the time of the takeoff but not too concerned because he had landed and took off in those conditions on previous flights. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any 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.

— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Response/compensation
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_CEN24LA138.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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