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GAA19CA119

2018-12-27 · Sugar Land, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SGR

Current FAA registration · N17SJ

Make / Model
CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture
1999 · 19 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING I0360 SER A&C (200 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19991227
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A1186D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff, which resulted in a runway excursion and impact with a sign.

Factual narrative

The solo student pilot reported that, during the takeoff of a stop and go landing, he applied full power and the airplane drifted left. He corrected with right rudder, but the airplane continued left. He reduced power to idle to abort the takeoff, but the airplane "continued out of control to the left." He applied brakes and opposite rudder, but the airplane exited the runway to the left, struck an airport sign, the left main landing gear separated, and the airplane came to rest about 200 ft past the sign. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing lift strut. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation station located on the airport reported that, about 7 minutes before the accident, the wind was from 310° at 6 knots. The student landed the airplane on runway 35. The solo student pilot reported that, while taking off for a stop-and-go landing, he applied full power, and the airplane drifted left. He corrected with right rudder, but the airplane continued left. He reduced power to idle to abort the takeoff, but the airplane "continued out of control to the left." He applied brakes and opposite rudder, but the airplane exited the runway to the left and struck an airport sign, the left main landing gear separated, and the airplane came to rest about 200 ft past the sign. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing lift strut. The student 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-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Sign/marker-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2018_GAA19CA119.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