Cessna 172M N6750H accident near Gig Harbor, Washington

Probable cause

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during a touch-and-go.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot reported that he had been performing touch-and-goes and had landed left of the runway centerline. When he advanced the throttle, the aircraft “immediately pulled hard left due to its left-turning tendency,” and exited the left side of the runway. The student pilot attempted to continue the takeoff in an effort to overfly a sign, however the airplane’s landing gear impacted the top of the sign. The airplane then settled back onto terrain next to the runway, and the nose gear collapsed. As a result, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage. At the time of the accident, the pilot was taking off on runway 17 with wind 060° at 4 knots.

The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR25LA061 for the full record.