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Atlas / NTSB / WPR12CA357

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR12CA357

2012-08-14 Everett, Washington, United States Airport · PAE None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N863CP

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 421

Year of manufacture

1968 · 44 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR GTSIO-520-C (340 hp)

Seats / Engines

8 seats · 2 engines

Last airworthiness date

19680607

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S ABDA3C

Registrant of record

NET QUEST MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during takeoff.

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that he was practicing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The landing was uneventful; however, as the airplane accelerated for takeoff, it veered to the left. Despite his control inputs, the airplane continued to veer to the left and struck a runway sign, substantially damaging the fuselage and empennage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that he was practicing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The landing that immediately preceded the accident was uneventful; however, as the airplane accelerated for takeoff, it veered to the left. Despite the pilot’s control inputs, the airplane continued to veer to the left and struck a runway sign, substantially damaging the fuselage and empennage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Sign/marker-Not specified
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2012_WPR12CA357.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗