No fatalities

8 Apr 2019: Cessna 152 No Series — Lancaster, PA

Lancaster, PA, United States

On 8 Apr 2019, a Cessna 152 No Series was involved in an aviation accident near Lancaster, PA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff, which resulted in a runway excursion and impact with a runway marker. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During a solo touch-and-go landing, a student pilot retracted flaps and applied full power, causing the airplane to drift left, depart the runway, and impact a marker, resulting in substantial firewall damage.

Event Description

A student pilot was conducting solo touch-and-go landings and takeoffs. During the landing roll of the eighth touch-and-go landing, the pilot retracted the flaps to 0° and applied full engine power for takeoff. The airplane began drifting "hard" to the left. Despite the pilot applying right rudder, the airplane departed the left side of the runway, struck a runway marker, and came to rest in a nose-down attitude.

Aircraft Damage

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall.

Pilot Report

The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

Directional control — Not attained/maintainedStudent/instructed pilotEffect on operation