NTSB ERA21LA198 — 2021-04-24 · Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States

Current FAA registration · N80874

Make / Model: CESSNA 172M
Year of manufacture: 1976 · 45 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19760223
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S AB02FF

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N80874 Cessna 172M None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot reported that, during the landing roll, he applied brakes and the airplane veered right. He was unable to correct back to the centerline or brake effectively; the airplane exited the runway and struck an embankment before coming to rest. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed damage to the right brake torque plate. The right brake became stuck when actuated and sometimes required prying to release. After the torque plate was replaced, the brake functioned without any anomalies.

Factual narrative

A stuck right brake during landing, which resulted in a loss of directional control and runway excursion. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Brake-Malfunction
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Attain/maintain not possible

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_ERA21LA198.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