N733AM

On November 14, 1998, at 1032 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N733AM, veered off the side of the runway during the takeoff ground roll at the General Wm. J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster, California. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The local flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as an instructional flight and originated at the Whiteman Airport, Pacoima, California, at 0915. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.

The student pilot reported that he, another student pilot, and a certified flight instructor had flown together to Fox Airfield so the two student pilots could practice traffic patterns at an unfamiliar airport. He reported that he performed some landings with the instructor still onboard, then he dropped the others off. This flight was the student pilot's second supervised solo flight. He began practicing touch-and-go landings to runway 24. During the second takeoff, he felt the airplane turn left, but he was not able to correct with right rudder. He reported that he was near midfield and at rotation speed, so he lifted off and planned to regain directional control once he was airborne. He landed and applied power to take off again, but the aircraft veered to the left. The pilot stated that he applied right rudder, but could not bring the aircraft back to the right. As he neared midfield, he attempted to abort the takeoff by reducing the power and applying the brakes. The aircraft continued to the left off the runway and through the scrub brush. The pilot reported that the aircraft continued, without slowing down, until the nose gear impacted a dirt berm that runs parallel to the taxiway. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted.

The airport weather observation was reporting calm wind conditions at the time of the accident. According to the school's chief pilot, the flight instructor who had flown the aircraft right before the accident noted no mechanical discrepancies. He further reported that subsequent postaccident examination of the aircraft did not reveal any mechanical discrepancies or anomalies.