St. Augustine Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Augustine, Florida 32095
Monday, August 8, 2011 12:57 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the student pilot, she completed one solo full-stop landing in the traffic pattern before the accident sequence. She taxied the airplane back to runway, was cleared for takeoff, and advanced the throttle to full forward. Soon she realized that the left door was open and she attempted to close it. According to the flight instructor monitoring the solo flight, the airplane departed the left side of the runway, bounced once, the nose wheel struck the ground, and the airplane came to rest inverted. The airplane incurred substantial damage to the firewall and empennage. The student pilot reported there were no preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's loss of directional control while attempting to close the airplane's door during takeoff roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/8/2011
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1257
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City St. Augustine
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32095
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 295720N
Event Location Longitude 0872023W
Event Location Airport St. Augustine Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SGJ
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 10
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1258 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID SGJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 10
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 100
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) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.89
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KSGJ 081658Z 28010G15KT 10SM FEW001 BKN040 3
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) 28927
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 12 2011 10:47AM
User who most recently changed record andj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N65777
NTSB Number ERA11CA446
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 172S9758
Certified Max Gross Weight 2450
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Jul 11 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4589
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name CHRISTIANSEN AVIATION INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810-4533
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Florida Flyers
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City St. Augustine
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 32095
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 SGJ
Departure City St. Augustine
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SGJ
Destination City St. Augustine
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 9 2011 2:55PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 7996
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --