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GAA18CA232

2018-04-20 · San Jose, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport RHV

Current FAA registration · N23AT

Make / Model
CESSNA 172N
Year of manufacture
1978 · 40 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19780526
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A20639

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to maintain the runway heading during the approach to land, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.

Factual narrative

The manager at the flight school reported that, during a training flight, the student allowed the airplane to drift to the right of the runway centerline on approach. He added that, the flight instructor reminded the student to remain on the centerline, but as the airplane flared for landing it continued to drift to the right of the centerline. The student applied full right rudder, the airplane "yawed and banked to the left", the instructor initiated a go-around, but the right main landing gear struck a taxiway sign. Subsequently, the flight instructor continued the go-around and landed without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The manager at the flight school reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The manager at the flight school reported that, during a training flight, the student allowed the airplane to drift to the right of the runway centerline on approach. He added that the flight instructor reminded the student to remain on the centerline, but as the airplane flared for landing it continued to drift to the right of the centerline. The student applied full right rudder, the airplane "yawed and banked to the left," the instructor pilot initiated a go-around, but the right main landing gear struck a taxiway sign. Subsequently, the flight instructor continued the go-around and landed without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The manager at the flight school reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Heading/course-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Sign/marker-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2018_GAA18CA232.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 (go-around). All research papers