Event GAA19CA490

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that, after being endorsed for his first solo flight, he made three approaches and three landings. During the third approach, the nose of the airplane yawed to the right, and he applied left rudder to correct the right yaw but was unsuccessful. About 15ft AGL, the pilot aborted the landing and applied full engine power but, "The aircraft jerked and continued to descend with right yaw." The airplane landed on the runway with the nose of the airplane oriented to the right of the runway heading. The airplane exited the right side of the runway and stopped after encountering the rough terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail and empennage. The METAR at the accident airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was variable at 4 knots. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that, after being endorsed for his first solo flight, he conducted three approaches and landings. During the third approach, the airplane's nose yawed right, and he applied left rudder to correct but was unsuccessful. When the airplane was about 15 ft above ground level, the student aborted the landing and applied full engine power, but the airplane continued to descend while yawing right. The airplane landed on the runway with the nose oriented right of the runway heading, exited the runway, encountered rough terrain, and then stopped. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail and empennage. 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

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-Heading/course-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Effect on operation - C