NTSB Factual Report

On December 17, 2001, at 1525 central standard time, a Cessna 172 single-engine airplane, N5181R, was substantially damaged when it impacted soft terrain following a loss of directional control during the landing roll at the New Braunfels Municipal Airport, New Braunfels, Texas. The airplane was owned and operated by Wright Flyers Holding LLC of San Antonio, Texas. The student pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 solo instructional flight. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.

In a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the 30-hour student pilot and his instructor, who witnessed the accident, reported that this was the student's first landing during his second supervised solo. A left hand traffic pattern was flown to runway 36. The student pilot stated that after landing, within the first 1,000 feet of the 5,364 foot runway, the aircraft, "for some reason," veered 15 - 20 degrees to the right. The airplane exited the runway, proceeded across a taxiway, impacted soft terrain, and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The wind at the time of the accident was reported to be from 350 degrees at 7 knots. The left wing's rear spar sustained structural damage during the impact.

NTSB Probable Cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll. A contributing factor was the soft terrain.