Originally Posted by
mostlytossas
If this was his first solo as reported then clearly he was not ready to be sent solo. After all he did not even get around the circuit let alone attempt a landing. I also have concerns that he attempted it in a C172 and not something a bit lighter such as a C150 given he came from RAaus . Sixteen is very young to be rushed through to GA. I think the flying school snd the instructor who cleared him will have a bit of explaining to do and rightfully so. Unfortunately for them but our thoughts should be with the family who put their trust in that school.
We have no idea what happened, for all we know there could have been structural failure. Blaming anyone at this point is just silly.
As for being rushed through to GA, 10s of thousands of pilots have gone solo in Cessna 172 types, many 1000s being teenagers with far less hours than what is reported in this scenario.
At about the same age I did my first flight in a 172, with similar experience, after an hour with an instructor I flew at max weight with 3 mates around the training area.
Whatever happened it was a very rare event during a solo in what is a benign training aircraft type.