Probable cause
The student pilot's loss of directional control while landing with a crosswind.
NTSB analysis
The student pilot was on his third solo flight and planned to do several touch-and-go landings. He reported that he had completed five landings without incident. On the sixth landing, he stated that after the main wheels touched the runway the airplane veered left. The student pilot was unable to correct back to the center of the runway. The airplane then exited the runway, the nose gear encountered soft terrain, dug in, and was torn from the airplane. The student pilot added that at the time of the accident the wind was out of the southeast and gusting, but was within the crosswind limit he and his flight instructor had set before the flight.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN10CA176 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Mar 26, 2010
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Mckinney, Texas
- Nearest airport
- Collin County Regional Airport (KTKI)
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna 172S
- N-number
- N18563
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.