LANCASTER, CA, USA
N4308F
Piper PA-28-140
The student pilot was on his second supervised solo, performing a touch-and-go landing. He landed right of the runway centerline and corrected his alignment during the landing roll. He then added power, and the airplane veered left. The student attempted to correct back to the centerline, but the airplane started to skid, and it departed the runway. It then encountered soft terrain, and the nose gear collapsed. No pre-accident failure or malfunction of the airplane was reported. The wind was reported to be calm.
On September 10, 1996, at 1125 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA28-140, N4308F, collided with the runway shoulder after landing on runway 24 at the General William J. Fox Airport, Lancaster, California. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the student pilot was not injured. The airplane was being operated by AV Aviation, Lancaster, as an instructional flight. The local flight began about 1100. Visual instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The student pilot indicated he was on his second supervised solo with his first on September 5, 1996. The pilot completed five touch-and-go takeoffs and landings with his instructor earlier in the day. The instructor released the student pilot to practice his takeoffs and landings in the traffic pattern. The student pilot was on his fourth solo landing when the accident occurred. He landed right of the runway centerline and corrected his alignment during the landing roll. He then added power and the airplane veered left. He attempted to correct back to the centerline, but the airplane started to skid and departed the runway. The nose gear collapsed in soft soil damaging the propeller and wing. The student pilot also indicated that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane on his accident report. The air traffic control tower reported the winds were calm. Runway 24 is 5,001 feet long and 150 feet wide.
failure of the student pilot to maintain direction control of the airplane, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve and subsequent collapse of the nose gear, during an encountered with soft terrain.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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