Primary finding
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The solo student pilot stated that, while landing, the airplane began to veer left when its nosewheel contacted the runway. He attempted to correct with full right rudder but was unable to regain control of the airplane. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and struck a drainage ditch, which resulted in the shearing off of the nose landing gear. An examination of the airplane wreckage did not reveal any preimpact anomalies with the engine or airframe that would have precluded normal operation.
Source record
Factual narrative
On February 7, 2013, about 1200 central standard time, a Cessna 172L airplane, N7974G, departed the side of the runway while landing at the McCurtain Country Regional Airport (4O4), Idabel, Oklahoma. The solo student pilot was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to Arrow Aviation LLC and operated by the Texarkana Flying Club under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The flight originated from the Texarkana Regional Airport (KTXK), Texarkana, Arkansas, about 1115, and was en route to 4O4.According to a statement provided by the pilot, while landing on runway 20, the airplane began to veer to the left as soon as the nose landing gear contacted the runway. The pilot attempted to correct with full right rudder and was unable to regain control of the airplane. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and rolled in to a grass field where the nose gear struck a drainage ditch and sheared off the nose landing gear. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. Substantial damage was sustained to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. An examination of the airplane wreckage by responding Federal Aviation Administration inspectors did not detect any preimpact malfunctions or failures with the engine or airframe. Prevailing wind was from 180 degrees at 7 knots.