St. Paul Downtown Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Paul, Minnesota 55107
Tuesady, October 29, 2002 14:58 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage when it veered left off the runway during a touch and go and hit a runway sign before coming to a complete stop. The student pilot reported he was practicing touch and goes. He reported that after the fourth landing the right pedal began to stick and caused a sharp turn to the right. He reported that he could not get the pedal un-jammed so he applied left rudder. He reported he "lost control" of the airplane while using the right rudder to center the airplane. He reported that he pulled the power out and applied brakes. The airplane hit a runway sign and the airplane went into a skid. The student pilot had 28 total flight hours and one hour of pilot-in-command time. The inspection of the airplane revealed no preexisting mechanical defects.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot failed to maintain directional control. A factor was the runway sign.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/29/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1458
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City St. Paul
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55107
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport St. Paul Downtown Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID STP
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 705
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1544 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID STP
Elevation of weather observation facility 705
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3900
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2400
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13171
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 29 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1749
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 18 2003 4:34PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Minneapolis FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N848SP
NTSB Number CHI03LA015
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S8756
Certified Max Gross Weight 2457
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 943
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Sullivan Aviation LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 94 Crocus Pl
Aircraft Owner City St. Paul
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55102
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Wings, Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 770 Bayfield
Operator City St. Paul
Operator State MN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 55107
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code STP
Departure City St. Paul
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1458
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Standing - pre-flight
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 24 2003 9:21PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 4115
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --