Cessna 172S N5023A

Summary

On 12 May 2007 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N5023A, operated by NPA LLC, was involved in an accident near Carson City, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 May 2007 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Carson City, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Carson City (CXP)

Coordinates

39.1922, -119.7344

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N5023A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

NPA LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carson City → Carson City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX07CA170

Nobody was injured.

The loss of directional control for undetermined reasons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane veered off the left side of the runway after landing and collided with a ditch. The operator reported that student had just been signed off for his first solo flight. He had received 15 hours of total dual instructional flight time. The student made a normal takeoff and landing. After another takeoff and flight around the pattern, the airplane landed, veered hard to the left off of the runway, and encountered a ditch. In a letter dated 12 August 2008, the student pilot said that the report submitted by the operator did not reflect his claim made at the time of the accident that there was "a failure in the right rudder" that was responsible for the loss of directional control. He wrote that after the airplane began veering to the left he "pushed [his] right foot on the rudder [but] the plane failed to respond [and] veered to the left and crashed into a ditch that was a few feet from the runway." The student also noted in his letter that the airplane "had experienced right rudder problems at least 5 days prior to the accident". He reported that on 8 May 2007 he was on a training flight with his instructor and they had to execute an emergency landing "due to the right rudder not responding in the air". He also claimed that earlier in that same week another student and instructor experienced problems with the right rudder, and that due to these two events, the operator's maintenance department checked the airplane to resolve the discrepancy report. A copy of a page from the airframe maintenance records dated 10 May 2007 states: "Checked rudder system and cable tensions per Cessna service manual no defects noted. Removed all floor panels and no obstructions noted."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.