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LAX91LA071

1991-01-10 · RAMONA, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport L39

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE DURING AN ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS RELATED TO THE STUDENT'S IMPROPER USE OF RUDDER CONTROL.

Factual narrative

THE STUDENT PILOT HAD SUCCESSFULLY MADE TWO PRACTICE TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS ON A 150-FOOT WIDE BY 4,000-FOOT LONG RUNWAY. DURING THE PILOT'S THIRD ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF THE AIRPLANE VEERED OFF THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND COLLIDED WITH A SMALL HILL. THE STUDENT REPORTED THAT WHILE ROLLING FOR TAKEOFF HE HAD ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT THE AIRPLANE'S COURSE BY APPLYING 'MORE THAN NORMAL' RUDDER PRESSURE, BUT HE WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL. THE AIRPLANE WAS EXAMINED AND ITS BRAKES AND FLIGHT CONTROLS WERE FOUND CAPABLE OF FUNCTIONING NORMALLY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_LAX91LA071.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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