Cessna 150K N6412G accident near Morrilton, Arkansas

Probable cause

The flight instructor's inadequate training and oversight of the student pilot, which resulted in the noncertificated student pilot's loss of control during landing.

NTSB analysis

The noncertificated student pilot's flight instructor had the student pilot performing touch-and go-landings during her first solo flight. During the student pilot's second touch-and-go landing, the airplane veered off the runway and subsequently nosed over while the flight instructor was talking to her over the radio, which likely increased her taskload.

Typically, flight instructors have students practice full-stop landings during their first solo flights because such landings allow ample time for correcting any errors and help prevent student pilots from becoming overwhelmed. One flight training reference states that touch-and-go landings should never be performed during a student's first solo flight. The majority of the student pilot's training was in takeoffs and landings, and training logbook entries indicated that she was not in compliance with the minimum regulatory presolo training requirements. Further, during postaccident interviews, the student pilot stated that she did not know what many of the maneuvers she had performed during her flight training were called, which exemplified a lack of a solid and fundamental understanding of these maneuvers. The student pilot only held an airman medical certificate, which the flight instructor had endorsed on the back for the solo flight; she did not hold a student pilot certificate. The airplane was not equipped nor was it required to be equipped with a shoulder harness, which might have mitigated injuries to the student pilot when the airplane impacted terrain and nosed over.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN13LA342 for the full record.