Cessna 172M N13265

Summary

On 5 November 2002 at about 23:15 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N13265, operated by West Air Aviation, was involved in an accident near Mesquite, 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

5 November 2002 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Mesquite, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Mesquite (67L)

Coordinates

36.8350, -114.0553

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N13265

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

West Air Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

North Las Vegas → Mesquite

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03LA023

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff. A contributing factor was the ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an attempted takeoff, the student pilot lost directional control of the airplane and it veered off the side of the runway, collided with a ditch, and nosed over. The accident occurred during the student's first solo cross-country flight. According to the student, she had made a normal approach and landing on runway 19. Thereafter, she retracted the wing flaps and applied full engine power to take off. At this moment, the airplane began turning left, and she attempted to correct its course by applying pressure to the right rudder pedal. The student was unsuccessful in redirecting the airplane onto its proper course down the 75-foot-wide by 5,100-foot-long runway under the prevailing calm wind condition. The student's CFI opined that his student may not have applied sufficient right rudder pressure to counteract the airplane's left turning tendency after the application of engine power. At the time of the accident, the student's total solo flight time, and total time, was 4.2 and 25.3 hours, respectively.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.