N34508

Substantial
Minor

CESSNA 177BS/N: 17701847

Accident Details

Date
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
NTSB Number
CEN09CA381
Location
Elyria, OH
Event ID
20090624X83010
Coordinates
41.331665, -82.100280
Aircraft Damage
Substantial
Highest Injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Serious Injuries
0
Minor Injuries
1
Uninjured
0
Total Aboard
1

Probable Cause and Findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control and adequate airspeed during the aborted landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude.

Aircraft Information

Registration
N34508
Make
CESSNA
Serial Number
17701847
Engine Type
Reciprocating
Year Built
1972
Model / ICAO
177BC177
Aircraft Type
Fixed Wing Single Engine
No. of Engines
1

Registered Owner (Historical)

Name
DICK ARTHUR P
Address
1104 FOREST ROAD
Status
Deregistered
City
LAKEWOOD
State / Zip Code
OH 44107
Country
United States

Analysis

The accident occurred during the student pilot's second landing on her first solo flight. She stated that the airplane began to porpoise immediately after the nose landing gear touched down. The airplane completed several porpoise cycles before she decided to abort the landing. After increasing engine power and becoming airborne, the airplane began to veer left toward some trees situated alongside the runway. To correct for the left veer, she applied right rudder and, in an attempt to decrease drag, reduced the flap setting from 20 to 10 degrees. The airplane stalled during a right turn, about 20 to 30 feet above the ground, and entered a nose-down attitude. She was able to level the airplane before it landed hard on all three landing gear off the left side of the runway. The engine firewall and fuselage were substantially damaged during the event. The student pilot stated that asymmetric loading of the propeller (P-Factor) caused the airplane to veer left after she increased engine power for the aborted landing. She noted that she had not received flight instruction demonstrating the airplane's flight characteristics while in ground effect at airspeeds at or near stall speed.

Data Source

Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN09CA381