Event GAA17CA487

Factual narrative

The solo student pilot reported that, after completing three takeoffs and landings unassisted with his flight instructor, he took off for his first solo. He added that, during the first landing, the airplane "floated" in ground effect for about 4 to 5 seconds, and he added rudder to align the airplane with the runway centerline. He further added that the airplane's nose wheel was "not straight when it touched [down]" on the runway. Subsequently, the student pilot applied brake to maintain directional and then applied power to abort the landing, but the airplane veered off the runway to the right. He then reduced power to idle and stopped the airplane in the grass next the runway and awaited instructions from air traffic control. The left wing sustained substantial damage during the runway excursion. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The solo student pilot reported that, after completing three takeoffs and landings unassisted with his flight instructor, he took off for his first solo. He added that, during the first solo landing, the airplane "floated" in ground effect for about 4 to 5 seconds, and he added rudder to align the airplane with the runway centerline. He further added that the airplane's nosewheel was "not straight when it touched [down]" on the runway. Subsequently, the student pilot applied brake to maintain directional control and then applied power to abort the landing, but the airplane veered off the runway to the right. He then reduced power to idle and stopped the airplane in the grass next to the runway and awaited instructions from air traffic control. The left wing sustained substantial damage. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C