• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
General Aviation News

General Aviation News

Because flying is cool

  • Pictures of the Day
    • Submit Picture of the Day
  • Stories
    • News
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Products
    • NTSB Accidents
    • ASRS Reports
  • Comments
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ad
  • Events
  • Digital Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Student mistake puts plane off runway

By NTSB · March 12, 2013 ·

Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Appleton, Wis. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The student pilot was practicing takeoffs. During an attempted short field takeoff, he accelerated the airplane to about 58 knots indicated airspeed when the airplane veered left.

He reduced the power and applied right rudder to keep the airplane on the runway, but it went off the runway and cartwheeled on its nose.

The pilot said that he may have inadvertently applied left toe brake during the takeoff.

Probable cause: The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during takeoff.

NTSB Identification: CEN11CA271

This March 2011 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

About NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in the other modes of transportation, including railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. It determines the probable causes of accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences.

Reader Interactions

Share this story

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Become better informed pilot.

Join 110,000 readers each month and get the latest news and entertainment from the world of general aviation direct to your inbox, daily.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Curious to know what fellow pilots think on random stories on the General Aviation News website? Click on our Recent Comments page to find out. Read our Comment Policy here.

Comments

  1. MITCH says

    March 13, 2013 at 7:58 am

    Something wrong with the report?
    No skid marks?
    Should have been in rotate mode?
    Cross wind?

© 2025 Flyer Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Photographer’s Guidelines