Cessna 172 N5172J

Summary

On 3 October 2008 at about 18:35 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N5172J, operated by Langa Air Services, was involved in an accident near Alton, Illinois, 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

3 October 2008 at 18:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Alton, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

St Louis Regional (ALN)

Coordinates

38.8903, -90.0461

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N5172J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Langa Air Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Alton → Alton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA002

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. A contributing factor was the presence of the sign struck during the runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot and flight instructor had conducted four takeoffs and landings during a dual instructional flight prior to the accident flight. The flight instructor stated that the landings "went really well" and he elected to endorse the student pilot for solo flight. The student pilot subsequently took off on his initial solo flight and flew a normal traffic pattern. He noted that the airplane was established at 70 knots on final approach for runway 29 (8,098 feet by 150 feet, dry asphalt). The airplane touched down on centerline; however, after landing it began to drift to the left and he was unable to maintain directional control. The airplane subsequently departed the runway pavement and struck a runway sign before coming to rest. A post accident inspection revealed that the firewall had been damaged. The pilot reported that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the airplane prior to the accident. Winds were from 270 degrees at 10 knots at the time of the accident, according to the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.