Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 135; Flight Crew Total 360; Flight Crew Type 350
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control; Ground Excursion Runway
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff
Aircraft; Human Factors
The incident occurred during the student's first solo. The weather was clear and the last reported ATIS showed the winds from 040 and 3 kts. It was a supervised solo; so the flight began with both the instructor and the student in the plane. The instructor watched the student make three takeoffs and landings to a stop on Runway XX before getting out of the plane and letting the student continue the flight solo. The takeoffs and landings before the solo portion were fine and within standards. The plan was that the student would perform 3 takeoffs and landings and pick up the instructor on the third landing. The first and second solo takeoffs and landings went smoothly. During the third takeoff; the student applied full power and started to veer left toward the edge of the runway. It appeared as if the student applied the brakes and tried to stop. The airplane then wobbled and skidded off the left side of the runway. It looked like the student regained control after going off the runway and taxied the airplane back closer to the edge of the runway. During this time the instructor; who was over 1;000 feet. down off to the side of the runway; ran toward the airplane; instructed the student to shut down the engine; and inspected the airplane for damage. The airplane looked undamaged. The instructor called Tower to let them know what had happened and requested taxi clearance back to the ramp. The instructor attempted to restart the engine but was not able to. The instructor got back out of the plane and noticed a small puddle of fuel by the nose wheel. A few minutes later ARFF (Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting) arrived with a mechanic who was able to start the airplane. The instructor taxied the airplane back to the ramp.Having done fewer solo takeoffs and landings could have minimized the chance for this situation occur.
C172 instructor reported that a solo student lost control of the aircraft during takeoff; resulting in a runway excursion.