Morristown Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Morristown, New Jersey 07960
Thursday, October 24, 2002 17:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During her second attempt at a solo touch-and-go, after touchdown, the student added power for takeoff. The airplane veered to the right, and departed the right side of the runway. It then traveled over grass, an intersecting runway, and struck trees. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the student pilot report any.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/24/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Morristown
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 07960
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404758N
Event Location Longitude 0742453W
Event Location Airport Morristown Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MMU
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 187
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1645 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID MMU
Elevation of weather observation facility 187
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 12000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
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) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.39
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) 13517
NTSB Notification Source TEB FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Oct 25 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 30 2003 9:51AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Teterboro, NJ

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4599D
NTSB Number NYC03LA014
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 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17272311
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Sep 12 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 81
Airframe Hours 8980
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Sherman Aviation Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Morristown
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 07932
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Century Air
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Morristown
Operator State NJ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 07960
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 MMU
Departure City Morristown
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1655
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code MMU
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 27 2003 1:30PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 5
Runway Length 5999
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --