Pueblo, CO, USA
N979DA
Diamond DA20
The student pilot reported that, after being endorsed for his first solo flight, he conducted three approaches and landings. During the third approach, the airplane's nose yawed right, and he applied left rudder to correct but was unsuccessful. When the airplane was about 15 ft above ground level, the student aborted the landing and applied full engine power, but the airplane continued to descend while yawing right. The airplane landed on the runway with the nose oriented right of the runway heading, exited the runway, encountered rough terrain, and then stopped. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail and empennage. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The student pilot reported that, after being endorsed for his first solo flight, he made three approaches and three landings. During the third approach, the nose of the airplane yawed to the right, and he applied left rudder to correct the right yaw but was unsuccessful. About 15ft AGL, the pilot aborted the landing and applied full engine power but, "The aircraft jerked and continued to descend with right yaw." The airplane landed on the runway with the nose of the airplane oriented to the right of the runway heading. The airplane exited the right side of the runway and stopped after encountering the rough terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail and empennage. The METAR at the accident airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was variable at 4 knots. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The student pilot's failure to maintain the runway heading during an attempted aborted landing, which resulted in a runway excursion onto rough terrain.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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