What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The student pilot was performing solo touch and go landings on runway 29 on his 3rd solo flight. He reported that he had obsrvd a white bird heading toward the aircraft as he was about to flare the aircraft on the 4th t&g. the pilot attempted to avoid the bird by applying left rudder. The aircraft drifted to the left of the runway, and the left MLG impacted the A4 taxiway turnoff sign located just past the turnoff and adjacent to the rwy. The acft then settled to the ground and crossed over taxiway alpha before coming to rest in a ditch bordering the south side of the taxiway.
Initial on-scene examination of the acft revealed that the lt MLG had been torn free from the wing spar at impact and that it came to rest in the grass area not FAR past the A4 sign. The A4 sign had been torn free from its mounting location at the frangible mount base.
Closer examination of the acft after recovery from the accident scene revealed that the left wing spar had been cracked and deformed where the MLG mount had been attached to the spar.
Review of the pilot's logbook revealed that he had flown on his first solo flt on 8/7/2018, and had accumulated about 3 hours solo flt experience and 16 total solo ldgs at the time of the accident.
As the FAA filed it
THE STUDENT PILOT WAS PERFORMING SOLO TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS ON RUNWAY 29 ON HIS 3RD SOLO FLIGHT. HE REPORTED THAT HE HAD OBSRVD A WHITE BIRD HEADING TOWARD THE AIRCRAFT AS HE WAS ABOUT TO FLARE THE AIRCRAFT ON THE 4TH T&G. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO AVOID THE BIRD BY APPLYING LEFT RUDDER. THE AIRCRAFT DRIFTED TO THE LEFT OF THE RUNWAY, AND THE LEFT MLG IMPACTED THE A4 TAXIWAY TURNOFF SIGN LOCATED JUST PAST THE TURNOFF AND ADJACENT TO THE RWY. THE ACFT THEN SETTLED TO THE GROUND AND CROSSED OVER TAXIWAY ALPHA BEFORE COMING TO REST IN A DITCH BORDERING THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE TAXIWAY.
INITIAL ON-SCENE EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT REVEALED THAT THE LT MLG HAD BEEN TORN FREE FROM THE WING SPAR AT IMPACT AND THAT IT CAME TO REST IN THE GRASS AREA NOT FAR PAST THE A4 SIGN. THE A4 SIGN HAD BEEN TORN FREE FROM ITS MOUNTING LOCATION AT THE FRANGIBLE MOUNT BASE.
CLOSER EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT AFTER RECOVERY FROM THE ACCIDENT SCENE REVEALED THAT THE LEFT WING SPAR HAD BEEN CRACKED AND DEFORMED WHERE THE MLG MOUNT HAD BEEN ATTACHED TO THE SPAR.
REVIEW OF THE PILOT'S LOGBOOK REVEALED THAT HE HAD FLOWN ON HIS FIRST SOLO FLT ON 8/7/2018, AND HAD ACCUMULATED ABOUT 3 HOURS SOLO FLT EXPERIENCE AND 16 TOTAL SOLO LDGS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.