Cessna 172 N7562F

Summary

On 13 September 2020 at about 20:35 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N7562F, operated by Coastal Skies Aero Club, was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 September 2020 at 20:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Pearland Regional Airport (LVJ)

Coordinates

29.5214, -95.2422

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N7562F

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

1

Operator

Coastal Skies Aero Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA393

1 person had minor injuries.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control upon landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot and his flight instructor were on an instructional flight when the airplane suddenly veered to the right upon landing. The flight instructor stated that his student had simply lost control upon touchdown. The flight instructor reported that he took control of the airplane from his student, but he was unable to regain directional control of the airplane before it departed off the right side of the runway and nosed over. The engine mount, left wing strut, left wing main spar, vertical stabilizer, and the rudder were substantially damaged. The flight instructor reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded its normal operation. The student pilot reported that they had completed 3 uneventful landings before the accident. The student pilot had observed some stiffness in the rudder system during his preflight inspection, the rudder did not self-center while on the ground at slow speeds, and that the cockpit floor carpet was loose and had to be repositioned several times during the flight. An examination of the airplane wreckage revealed impact-related damage to the rudder that precluded its movement, but there were no additional flight control issues observed. Examination revealed the cockpit floor carpet was loose and bunched-up, but it could not be determined if it had contributed to the loss of directional control or had become unsecured while the pilots made their emergency exit following the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.