Cessna 172 N5203H accident near Palm Springs, California

Probable cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an aborted landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and a nose over in rough terrain.

NTSB analysis

The solo student pilot reported that during the landing roll, the airplane drifted to the right of the runway centerline and he applied left rudder to correct. He further reported that he decided to abort the landing and applied full power. Subsequently, the airplane veered to the left, departed the runway, and nosed over in rough terrain. The student pilot reported that the airplane remained at "full power" through the nose over.

The vertical stabilizer and both wings sustained substantial damage.

The student pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The Federal Aviation Administration Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge in part states: "To the pilot, "torque" (the left turning tendency of the airplane) is made up of four elements that cause or produce a twisting or rotating motion around at least one of the airplane's three axes. These four elements are:

1. Torque reaction from engine and propeller

2. Corkscrewing effect of the slipstream

3. Gyroscopic action of the propeller

4. Asymmetric loading of the propeller (P-factor)"

It is likely that the student pilot did not counteract the left turning tendencies with sufficient right rudder after power was added to abort the landing.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA16CA416 for the full record.