NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI03LA079
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The loss of directional control by the solo student pilot. A factor to the accident was the excessive speed during landing.
Factual narrative
On March 5, 2003, at 1528 central standard time, a Cessna 172R, N35307, piloted by a solo student pilot, sustained substantial damage during landing at the South St. Paul Municipal Airport, South St. Paul, Minnesota. The airplane departed the runway and nosed over. The 14 CFR Part 91 local flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The student pilot was not injured. The local flight originated at 1430. A report submitted by the airplane operator and signed by the pilot states that, on landing, the student pilot lost directional control and departed the right side of the runway. After leaving the runway, the airplane nosed over and came to rest upside down. The report further states that the "airplane may have been fast on approach, and subsequently landed flat and fast." No preexisting mechanical defects were found during a postaccident examination of the airplane. The student pilot had a total of 37.5 hours of flight experience. The airplane was damaged when it departed the runway and nosed over during a student solo flight. A report submitted by the airplane operator and signed by the pilot states that, on landing, the student pilot lost directional control and departed the right side of the runway. The report further states that the "airplane may have been fast on approach, and subsequently landed flat and fast." No preexisting mechanical defects were found during a postaccident examination of the airplane. The student pilot had a total of 37.5 hours of flight experience. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2003_CHI03LA079.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
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