N1458U

Substantial
None

Cessna 172S/N: 17267125

Accident Details

Date
Friday, December 28, 2007
NTSB Number
DFW08CA051
Location
Houston, TX
Event ID
20080111X00041
Coordinates
29.934999, -95.639442
Aircraft Damage
Substantial
Highest Injury
None
Fatalities
0
Serious Injuries
0
Minor Injuries
0
Uninjured
1
Total Aboard
1

Probable Cause and Findings

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A contributing factor was prevailing crosswind.

Aircraft Information

Registration
N1458U
Make
CESSNA
Serial Number
17267125
Engine Type
Reciprocating
Year Built
1976
Model / ICAO
172C172
Aircraft Type
Fixed Wing Single Engine
No. of Engines
1

Registered Owner (Historical)

Name
J & D AIRCRAFT LLC
Address
11106 CEDARVIEW LN
Status
Deregistered
City
HOUSTON
State / Zip Code
TX 77041-5405
Country
United States

Analysis

The private pilot was flying multiple visual patterns on a 40-foot wide asphalt runway. Winds were reported by the pilot as variable and gusting. The pilot stated that during the third touch-and-go, the wind shifted to a crosswind with a tailwind component. While reconfiguring for takeoff, the pilot perceived a faster than normal groundspeed. A gust of wind contacted the airplane's tail pushing the nose to the left. The pilot attempted to correct back to centerline but was hesitant to input an aggressive correction due to the faster than normal groundspeed. The left main gear ran off the runway onto the grass and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. The nose gear sank into mud and was separated. The nose gear strut dug into the muddy terrain and the airplane nosed over coming to rest in the inverted position. On a NTSB Form 6120.1, the pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented with a more aggressive rudder input.

Data Source

Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# DFW08CA051