N3901LCessna 172G

According to the student pilot, he had been practicing touch-and-goes. Upon the fifth landing, the airplane began to veer to the left. He attempted to correct with right rudder, however, the airplane exited the left side of the runway. Subsequently, the right main landing gear impacted a sign, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. At the time of the accident, the student pilot was landing on runway 25 with the wind from 260° at 10 knots.

The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that could have precluded normal operation.

The student pilot and flight instructor taxied the Cessna 172 and stopped short of the displaced threshold runway behind a Bombardier Challenger awaiting their clearance for departure. A witness stated that the Cessna was about “2-wing spans” behind the Challenger and was in line with the jet thrust vector. Shortly after the pilot of the Challenger was cleared for takeoff, while still on the taxiway, with brakes applied, the pilot increased the engine power to about 80 to 90%, then released the brakes, and departed. The flight instructor of the Cessna reported that he cut the mixture and deflected the aileron control towards the Challenger’s jetbast, but the airplane lifted, and the left wing was substantially damaged when it contacted the runway. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations

The Challenger pilot reported that he was not aware of anything unusual related to his takeoff, as he was not contacted by the local air traffic control tower.