C172 flight instructor observing the third landing of his students second solo; watches as the aircr...

Narrative:

I was witnessing my student pilot conduct his second supervised solo from the ramp; near the active runway. During his third and final landing; his approach and touch down appeared normal and the flaps were set at 30 degrees. About three seconds after touchdown; I observed the aircraft slowly veer towards its left and continue into the dirt landscape; separating the runway from the taxiway. I then observed dirt and a black sign in the air. The aircraft came to a rest partially in the dirt and on the runway with the engine still running at idle. The student pilot then elected to continue on the runway at a slow speed and taxied about 300 ft until shut down on the runway. The student pilot reported no injuries to the tower and the runway was shutdown by airport personnel. The student pilot had completed his first solo [a week prior]; including the first two takeoff and landings with me on board. I then endorsed his logbook and his medical/student pilot certificate. All of these items were completed prior to his fist solo. On this day I conducted two takeoff and landings with the student pilot and verified he had his logbook and medical with him. The ATIS information included the winds 010 at 5 KTS; altimeter 29.88; runway in use; and the visibility clear. The student pilot was in good spirits; well-rested and when asked if he wanted to solo; he stated 'yes.' I felt the student pilot was safe to solo; consequently I left the airplane to supervise his solo from the ramp. During his solo I observed two or three other aircraft in the pattern and the winds were calm during the runoff. I had taken over the student pilot's training from another instructor during his pre-solo; and I completed 18.2 hours of training and ground training. Most of the training from me was conducted in the traffic pattern at this airport.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 Flight Instructor observing the third landing of his students second solo; watches as the aircraft drifts off the runway contacting a sign before returning to the runway. The winds were calm at the time.

Narrative: I was witnessing my student pilot conduct his second supervised solo from the ramp; near the active runway. During his third and final landing; his approach and touch down appeared normal and the flaps were set at 30 degrees. About three seconds after touchdown; I observed the aircraft slowly veer towards its left and continue into the dirt landscape; separating the runway from the taxiway. I then observed dirt and a black sign in the air. The aircraft came to a rest partially in the dirt and on the runway with the engine still running at idle. The student pilot then elected to continue on the runway at a slow speed and taxied about 300 FT until shut down on the runway. The student pilot reported no injuries to the Tower and the runway was shutdown by airport personnel. The student pilot had completed his first solo [a week prior]; including the first two takeoff and landings with me on board. I then endorsed his logbook and his medical/student pilot certificate. All of these items were completed prior to his fist solo. On this day I conducted two takeoff and landings with the student pilot and verified he had his logbook and medical with him. The ATIS information included the winds 010 at 5 KTS; altimeter 29.88; runway in use; and the visibility clear. The student pilot was in good spirits; well-rested and when asked if he wanted to solo; he stated 'yes.' I felt the student pilot was safe to solo; consequently I left the airplane to supervise his solo from the ramp. During his solo I observed two or three other aircraft in the pattern and the winds were calm during the runoff. I had taken over the student pilot's training from another instructor during his pre-solo; and I completed 18.2 hours of training and ground training. Most of the training from me was conducted in the traffic pattern at this airport.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	962652
Time
Date	201108
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Landing
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Instructor
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 75 Flight Crew Total 930 Flight Crew Type 170
Events
Anomaly	Ground Event / Encounter Object Ground Excursion Runway Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Object

C172 flight instructor observing the third landing of his students second solo; watches as the aircraft drifts off the runway contacting a sign before returning to the runway. The winds were calm at the time.