NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA12CA173
Registry · N701CF
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PILATUS PC-12/45
Year of manufacture
2005 · 7 years old at event
Engine
P&W CANADA PT6A-6 SERIES (950 hp)
Seats / Engines
12 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20050928
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A9587D
Registrant of record
LEGACY AIR 01 LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The flight instructor’s delayed remedial action to prevent the airplane from hitting the hangar door. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's misuse of the airplane's throttle, and his incorrect use of the wheel brakes.
Factual narrative
The non-certificated student pilot reported that, while taxiing to the runway and adjusting the throttle, the engine spooled up and the taxi speed increased. He retarded the throttle and attempted to apply toe brakes. The airplane was equipped with a hand brake instead of toe brakes. The certified flight instructor (CFI) reported that the airplane moved toward a hangar at a "rapid speed" as he tried to slow the airplane. The airplane collided with a hangar door, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. The CFI stated that the time from loss of control to the collision with the hangar was about two to three seconds. The CFI had 1.9 hours of experience in the accident airplane. The pilots reported that there were no anomalies or malfunctions with the airplane during the accident sequence. The student pilot reported that, while taxiing to the runway and adjusting the throttle, the engine spooled up and the taxi speed increased. He retarded the throttle and attempted to apply toe brakes, but the airplane was equipped with a hand brake instead of toe brakes. The flight instructor reported that the airplane moved toward a hangar at a "rapid speed" as he tried to slow the airplane. The airplane collided with a hangar door, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. The instructor stated that the time from loss of control to the collision with the hangar was about 2 to 3 seconds. The instructor had 1.9 hours of experience in the accident airplane. The pilots reported that there were no anomalies or malfunctions with the airplane during the accident sequence. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Instructor/check pilot - C
- F Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine controls-Power lever-Incorrect use/operation - F
- F Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Surface speed/braking-Incorrect use/operation - F
- F Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Student pilot - F
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2012_ERA12CA173.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article
Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2022 · Accident report
Loss of Control on Takeoff in Icing Conditions — Citation 560XL
Cessna Citation 560XL fatal takeoff icing accident, March 2018. Investigation of a Citation 560XL loss-of-control takeoff accident in icing conditions.
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Aviation)
ANALYSIS OF GENERAL AVIATION FIXED-WING AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS INVOLVING INFLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL USING A STATE-BASED APPROACH
Inflight loss of control (LOC-I) is a significant cause of General Aviation (GA) fixed-wing aircraft accidents. The United States National Transportation Safety Board’s database provides a rich source…
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Presentation
Use of Design of Experiments in Determining Neural Network Architectures for Loss of Control Detection
Abstract—We describe empirical methods for selecting a neural network architecture to implement belief state inference on generic commercial transport aircraft.
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Conference Paper
Use of Design of Experiments in Determining Neural Network Architectures for Loss of Control Detection
We describe empirical methods for selecting a neural network architecture to implement belief state inference on generic commercial transport aircraft.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗