NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX97LA256
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
Failure of the student pilot to maintain directional control.
Factual narrative
On June 28, 1997, at 0700 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 150F, N6634F, collided with a ditch following an on-ground loss of control while landing at Casa Grande, Arizona. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and the student pilot was not injured. The aircraft was operated by the pilot as a instructional flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The flight originated in Yuma, Arizona, at an undetermined time. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The student pilot was conducting her second supervised solo instructional flight when the accident occurred. The student pilot stated in her report that she set the aircraft down easy and straight on the runway. After it was on the ground, the aircraft "broke hard right," so she held the left rudder in to compensate with no success. She then said she tried to "clean up the plane" but it went out of control and ended up in a gully. The FAA Airworthiness Inspector who examined the aircraft after the accident stated that he was able to establish rudder continuity. Additionally, he did not find any preimpact damage to the landing gear, brakes, or nose landing gear. He did report that he found the stall warning system placarded inoperative. According to the student pilot's logbook entries, she had logged over 49 hours of dual instruction with 6 hours of flight time with the instructor who approved her solo flights. The pilot reported that she made a normal landing on the runway and that the winds were calm. She said that during the landing the airplane swerved to the right. She attempted to correct the swerve, but with no success. The airplane exited the runway and struck a drainage ditch on the side of the runway. Rudder control continuity was established at the accident site. Detailed examination of the aircraft disclosed no preimpact damage or malfunctions on the landing gear, brakes, or nose gear. The student pilot had logged over 49 hours of dual instruction with 6 hours of flight time with the instructor who had approved her solo flights. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1997_LAX97LA256.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, loss of control). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Semantic Scholar 2016 · Article (Interacción)
Trajectory Recovery System: Angle of Attack Guidance for Inflight Loss of Control
This paper describes the design and development of an ecological display to aid pilots in the recovery of an In-Flight Loss of Control event due to a Stall (ILOC-S).
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2010 · Accident report
Loss of Control on Approach — Colgan Air Flight 3407
Colgan Air 3407 / Continental Connection (Q400) Buffalo NY, February 12, 2009 — 50 fatalities. Definitive investigation of the Colgan 3407 stall-stick-pusher crash on approach to Buffalo.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Quadratic Programming Approach to Flight Envelope Protection Using Control Barrier Functions
Ensuring the safe operation of aerospace systems within their prescribed flight envelope is a fundamental requirement for modern flight control systems.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article
Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
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