Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 172 near Palm Springs, CA — 2016-08-03

Final reportGAA16CA416
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Date
2016-08-03
Location
Palm Springs, CA, USA
Airport
TRM
Aircraft
CESSNA 172
Registration
N5203H
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an aborted landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and a nose over in rough terrain.

NTSB narrative

The solo student pilot reported that during the landing roll, the airplane drifted to the right of the runway centerline and he applied left rudder to correct. He further reported that he decided to abort the landing and applied full power. Subsequently, the airplane veered to the left, departed the runway, and nosed over in rough terrain. The student pilot reported that the airplane remained at "full power" through the nose over. The vertical stabilizer and both wings sustained substantial damage. The student pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge in part states: "To the pilot, "torque" (the left turning tendency of the airplane) is made up of four elements that cause or produce a twisting or rotating motion around at least one of the airplane's three axes. These four elements are: 1. Torque reaction from engine and propeller 2. Corkscrewing effect of the slipstream 3. Gyroscopic action of the propeller 4. Asymmetric loading of the propeller (P-factor)" It is likely that the student pilot did not counteract the left turning tendencies with sufficient right rudder after power was added to abort the landing.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have counteracted left turning tendencies with right rudder after adding power.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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