2009 Cessna 152 CS-AUR Runway Departure at Cascais Aerodrome

Incident Overview On 16 February 2009 at 10:15 UTC, a Cessna 152, registration CS-AUR, was conducting a training flight at Cascais Aerodrome. The aircraft was operated by Leávia and was on a touch-and-go training circuit. The student pilot was on their first solo flight after completing six landings with an instructor. ## Sequence of Events During the second landing, the student pilot applied power for the takeoff roll. The aircraft yawed to the left, pitched forward, and the propeller and right wingtip contacted the ground. The aircraft came to rest on the grass verge in front of the control tower. ## Meteorological Conditions Weather conditions at the time were calm winds, visibility greater than 10 km, CAVOK, temperature 10/06 °C, and QNH 1021. The investigation determined that meteorological conditions were not a contributing factor. ## Personnel and Aircraft The pilot-instructor was a 33-year-old Portuguese male holding a valid Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) with instructor qualifications and 520:00 hours of experience. The student pilot was a Portuguese male holding a valid ATPL(A) student pilot authorisation with 17:40 hours of total experience. The aircraft had valid documentation, had complied with the manufacturer's maintenance programme, and had 10,561:50 hours of total time. The engine was a Lycoming O-325-L2C and the propeller was a McCauley 1A103/TCM6958. ## Analysis The investigation rejected the student pilot's hypothesis of a sudden wind gust as the cause, noting no recorded wind changes and that a right gust would have caused the aircraft to yaw right, not left. The analysis concluded that abrupt application of power produced a torque effect, causing the aircraft to yaw left. The inexperienced student pilot did not immediately compensate with opposite rudder, resulting in the aircraft departing the runway to the left, with the right wingtip striking the ground and causing the nose to pitch down and the propeller to contact the ground.