Cessna 172N N3552E

Summary

On 31 December 2024 at about 22:30 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N3552E was involved in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska, 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

31 December 2024 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Merrill Field (MRI)

Coordinates

61.2157, -149.8427

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N3552E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC25LA014

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during touch-and-go operations on an ice-covered runway during her first solo flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that, after performing her first solo landing while conducting touch-and-go landings on an ice-covered runway, she inadvertently allowed the airplane to veer to the left of runway centerline while reconfiguring the airplane for takeoff. The student pilot reported overcorrecting with right rudder and while attempting to correct the overcorrection by applying left rudder, she inadvertently applied the left brake, resulting in a loss of directional control. The airplane exited the runway surface and nosed over which resulted in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, right aileron, right lift strut, and right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.