Cessna 172 N494JB accident near Spring, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane directional control while taxiing at an unsafe ground speed.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was taxiing the airplane to the runway to depart on a personal flight when the airplane veered to the right and the right main landing gear descended into a drainage ditch. The pilot and the passenger were not injured. The right horizontal stabilizer and elevator were substantially damaged.

In a postaccident statement, the pilot reported no anomalies with the wheel brake system before she began taxiing the airplane. She also reported that the tailwind during taxi caused a high groundspeed but that the airplane was “uncontrollable” via the rudder and brakes.

The airplane’s pilot operating handbook states that the groundspeed and use of brakes should be held to a minimum while taxiing, directional control should be maintained with the steerable nosewheel and the rudder, and the proper positioning of the ailerons and elevator for wind direction is required to maintain directional control and balance. Additionally, according to the FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook, a pilot must maintain a safe taxiing speed to ensure directional control and must have the ability to recognize any potential hazards in time to avoid them and to stop or turn where and when desired without undue reliance on the wheel brakes.

Postaccident examination and testing revealed no anomalies with the airplane’s wheel brake system or the steerable nosewheel. The wind at the airport about the time of the accident was from 140° at 13 knots gusting to 21 knots. Thus, the pilot likely allowed the airplane to accelerate to an unsafe groundspeed during taxi, resulting in a loss of directional control.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN19LA113 for the full record.