Overall Trends
Total, fatal, and serious accidents in the selected range.
Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.
Fast key and full-text search with live filters, watches, and precise metadata.
Use quotes for exact phrase matches (for example "fuel selector valve").
Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.
Major cases, deep-report coverage, and investigation media across decades of NTSB history.
Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.
NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.
The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.
The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.
Mesquite, NV
During an attempted takeoff, the student pilot lost directional control of the airplane and it veered off the side of the runway, collided with a ditch, and nosed over. The accident occurred during the student's first solo cross-country flight. According to the student, she had made a normal approach and landing on runway 19. Thereafter, she retracted the wing flaps and applied full engine power to take off. At this moment, the airplane began turning left, and she attempted to correct its course by applying pressure to the right rudder pedal. The student was unsuccessful in redirecting the airplane onto its proper course down the 75-foot-wide by 5,100-foot-long runway under the prevailing calm wind condition. The student's CFI opined that his student may not have applied sufficient right rudder pressure to counteract the airplane's left turning tendency after the application of engine power. At the time of the accident, the student's total solo flight time, and total time, was 4.2 and 25.3 hours, respectively.
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff. A contributing factor was the ditch.
On November 5, 2002, about 1515 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172M, N13265, veered off the runway and nosed over during an attempted takeoff from the Mesquite (uncontrolled) Airport, Mesquite, Nevada. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the student pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated by West Air Aviation, North Las Vegas, Nevada, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules flight plan had been filed for the solo instructional flight. The flight originated from North Las Vegas about 1435. The student pilot and her certified flight instructor (CFI) were interviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board investigator. They reported that the accident occurred during the student's first solo cross-country flight. The student had previously landed at the accident airport with her CFI, and she had received a 90-day logbook endorsement to return to the airport. The student stated that she entered the airport's traffic pattern and made a normal approach to runway 19. She intended to perform a touch-and-go landing. According to the student, following her unremarkable touchdown, she retracted the wing flaps and applied full engine power to take off. At this moment, the airplane began turning left, and she attempted to correct its course by applying pressure to the right rudder pedal. However, the airplane's course continued toward the left. The airplane overran the left side of the runway, collided with a ditch and nosed over. The CFI opined that his student may not have applied sufficient right rudder pressure to counteract the airplane's left turning tendency after the application of engine power. At the time of the accident, the student's total solo flight time, and total time, was 4.2 and 25.3 hours, respectively. Runway 19 is 5,100 feet long and 75 feet wide. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident the local wind was calm.