Cessna 172 N857CP accident near Houston, Texas

Probable cause

The student pilot’s failure to maintain direction control during takeoff in gusty wind conditions.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot reported that she was practicing touch and go landings. She had just added full power to take off when the airplane veered to the left. The student pilot attempted to correct with the application of right rudder; however, she perceived that the rudder was “locked into place” and required full body weight to apply full right rudder. The student pilot lost control of the airplane and exited the side of the runway which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage.

A postaccident examination of the airplane found no obvious malfunctions with the flight controls, although impact damage precluded full rudder deflection. The instructor pilot that witnessed the accident reported that the wind had increased past what was forecast and past the student pilot’s limit. At the time of the accident the student pilot was taking off on runway 17 with wind from 130° at 12 kts, gusting to 18 kts; the crosswind was calculated to be 11 kts.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22LA170 for the full record.