Event NYC96LA054

Factual narrative

On January 22, 1996, at 1419 eastern standard time, a Cessna 152, N89813, was substantially damaged during landing at the Norwood Memorial Airport, Norwood, Massachusetts. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the local training flight which originated at Norwood, about 1400, and was operated under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the FAA Operations Inspector, the student pilot had flown with his flight instructor on January 16, 1996, and was considered ready for solo,; however, he did not possess a medical certificate. He then obtained the required certificates, and flew with another flight instructor on January 22, 1996. Based upon the recommendation of the second flight instructor, the first flight instructor signed the student pilot's certificate which authorized him to make solo flights. The student pilot then departed on his first solo flight which was unsupervised. He completed one touch and go, and the accident occurred after touchdown on the second touch and go. In the NTSB Accident Report, he stated: ...I observed a tail wind. I was staying in the pattern coming around for a landing. My airspeed was 45-50 Kts onto the runway. All the wheels touched ground and stayed on the ground. The plane went immediately went hard left. I tried using right aileron and right rudder to get the plane back onto the center line. At no time did I touch the brakes initially. Once I couldn't bring [the plane] back onto the center line then I started to apply brakes. Knew I was going into the snowbank and braced myself for what ever was going to happen. The airplane was examined by an FAA Airworthiness Inspector and no mechanical discrepancies were reported with the nose landing gear steering or flight control system. The FAA Air Traffic Control Tower reported the winds as calm. According to the Airport Facility Directory, runway 35 was 4007 feet long, 150 feet wide, and had an asphalt surface. The FAA reported the runway surface was clear of snow and ice, and was dry. The student pilot had about 17 hours total time, all in the Cessna 152. THE STUDENT PILOT WAS ON HIS FIRST SOLO FLIGHT. HE STATED THAT AFTER TOUCHDOWN ON HIS SECOND TOUCH-AND-GO, THE AIRPLANE VEERED LEFT. THE STUDENT SAID HE ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT THE SITUATION WITH RIGHT AILERON AND RUDDER, THEN HE APPLIED BRAKES; HOWEVER, THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO VEER LEFT. IT THEN DEPARTED THE RUNWAY AND STRUCK A SNOWBANK. THE WIND WAS REPORTED AS CALM; THE RUNWAY WAS 150 FEET WIDE. THE PILOT HAD 17 HOURS TOTAL TIME, ALL IN A CESSNA 152. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12