Mesquite Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mesquite, Nevada 89027
Tuesady, November 5, 2002 15:15 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During an attempted takeoff, the student pilot lost directional control of the airplane and it veered off the side of the runway, collided with a ditch, and nosed over. The accident occurred during the student's first solo cross-country flight. According to the student, she had made a normal approach and landing on runway 19. Thereafter, she retracted the wing flaps and applied full engine power to take off. At this moment, the airplane began turning left, and she attempted to correct its course by applying pressure to the right rudder pedal. The student was unsuccessful in redirecting the airplane onto its proper course down the 75-foot-wide by 5,100-foot-long runway under the prevailing calm wind condition. The student's CFI opined that his student may not have applied sufficient right rudder pressure to counteract the airplane's left turning tendency after the application of engine power. At the time of the accident, the student's total solo flight time, and total time, was 4.2 and 25.3 hours, respectively.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff. A contributing factor was the ditch.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/5/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1515
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Mesquite
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89027
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 365006N
Event Location Longitude 1140319W
Event Location Airport Mesquite
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 67L
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1975
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1455 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 41
Weather Observation Facility ID SGU
Elevation of weather observation facility 4227
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 27
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
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) 16547
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 5 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1615
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO Las Vegas, NV

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N13265
NTSB Number LAX03LA023
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17262623
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Sep 19 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3087
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Brian R. Gayhart
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Henderson
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89014
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name West Air Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2722 Perimeter Road, Suite #107
Operator City North Las Vegas
Operator State NV
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 89032
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 No
Departure Airport Code VGT
Departure City North Las Vegas
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1435
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 67L
Destination City Mesquite
Destination State NV
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 25 2004 6:36PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19
Runway Length 5100
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --