East Cooper Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina 29461
Saturday, January 11, 2003 12:20 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot attempted to takeoff for his first solo flight. As power was applied for the takeoff roll, the student pilot maintained alignment with the runway centerline. A few seconds later, the airplane moved slightly left of the centerline. The student pilot made corrections to align the airplane back onto the centerline. The airplane then rolled to the right of the centerline. The student pilot then attempted for the second time to correct the airplane by going to the left. The airplane oscillated from left to right and back, and then headed sharply 30 degrees to the left. The airplane then departed runway 35 where the nose wheel sank in soft ground and the airplane nosed over.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll, which resulted in a loss of control and collision with terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/11/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1220
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Mt. Pleasant
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29461
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 325352N
Event Location Longitude 0794658W
Event Location Airport East Cooper
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 8S5
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 12
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1156 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID CHS
Elevation of weather observation facility 46
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
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) 30.15
Density Altitude (feet) 5451
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) 19799
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jan 11 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 28 2006 1:30PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office South Carolina FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5199H
NTSB Number ATL03LA034
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 172S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S9094
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 285
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CS172 LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 501 La Mesa Road Unit E
Aircraft Owner City Charleston
Aircraft Owner State SC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 29464
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Coastal Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 700 Falson Drive
Operator City Mt Pleasant
Operator State SC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 29466
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 --
Departure City Mt. Pleasant
Departure State SC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EST
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 11 2006 11:13AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --