General Fox Airfield Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lancaster, California 93539
Saturday, November 14, 1998 10:32 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot lost control and veered off the runway to the left during the takeoff roll. He attempted to abort the takeoff by reducing power and applying brakes, but the aircraft continued off the runway into the scrub brush. The nose gear impacted a berm and the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airport weather observation was reporting calm wind conditions at the time of the accident. The flight instructor who flew the aircraft right before the accident reported that he had not noted any discrepancies with the aircraft, nor were any found during the subsequent postaccident examination. The accident flight was the student pilot's second supervised solo flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/14/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1032
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City LANCASTER
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93539
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport GENERAL FOX AIRFIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID WJF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2347
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1024 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID WJF
Elevation of weather observation facility 2347
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1154
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 14 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1036
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:53AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N733AM
NTSB Number LAX99LA031
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier 172N
Aircraft Serial Number 17268145
Certified Max Gross Weight 1489
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Oct 21 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 34
Airframe Hours 2726
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1500 NORTH VERDUGO ROAD
Aircraft Owner City GLENDALE
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91208
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code WHP
Departure City PACOIMA
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 915
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 5001
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --