Cessna 152 N6496L accident near Chemehuevi Valley, California

Probable cause

The student pilot’s loss of directional control during takeoff.

NTSB analysis

During the takeoff roll, after reaching rotation speed, the student pilot pulled back on the yoke but the airplane did not rotate. He verified the flight instruments and tried again, and although the nose pitched up slightly the airplane did not rotate. He released back pressure on the yoke and realized that the airplane had veered to the left of the runway. The airplane departed the runway and collided with a small tree. The flight was the first time the pilot had flown solo, having just received an endorsement from his flight instructor earlier in the day.

Postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies with the pitch control system, and both the flaps and elevator trim were set appropriately for takeoff. The rudder cables exhibited significant preexisting wear in the area of the aft rudder pulleys, and the left cable had separated in that area. Metallurgical examination determined that about half of the left cable wire strands had failed before the accident due to wear, but the cable was likely still strong enough to operate the rudder. Therefore, the separation of the left rudder cable likely occurred at impact when the nose wheel, which was connected to the rudder cables, struck terrain, and the remaining intact wire strands of the weakened rudder cable failed in overload. Further, it is unlikely that the deteriorated rudder cables contributed to the accident as the pitch control issues described by the pilot did not indicate a rudder control problem.

The extent of wear and the caked and old grease in the pulleys indicated the cables had not been examined or serviced recently, even though the annual inspection was performed 3 months earlier.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR22LA093 for the full record.