CEN17LA082

The pilot was landing to the south after his personal flight. He stated that, during the landing, the airplane's ground speed "picked up," and he thought he had a tailwind. The airport owner thought the airplane was traveling at a high speed on approach. The pilot stated that he chose to land, and, as the airplane touched down, it "skipped" off the runway. The airplane then crashed into a wooded area off the departure end of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings, engine, and fuselage. The pilot could not recall what happened between the time the airplane "skipped" off the runway and when emergency personnel arrived. The engine throttle and fuel/air mixture controls were found in the full forward position, and the carburetor heat knob was found in the ON position. The flaps were retracted. The airplane appeared to be partially configured for a go-around; however, the pilot should have aborted the landing when he realized the airplane was traveling too fast.

***This report was modified on July 20, 2020. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.*** On January 6, 2017, about 1305 central standard time, a Cessna 172M, N80374, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Hobart Sky Ranch Airport (3HO), Hobart, Indiana. The pilot received serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot told a law enforcement officer that he approached the runway to land from the north and when the landing gear contacted the runway the airplane "skipped" and overshot the runway. The airport owner saw the airplane approach the runway to land and noticed that the airplane was traveling at a high speed. As the airplane touched down it "skipped" off of the runway and then crashed into a wooded area off the departure end of the runway. The pilot could not recall what happened between the time the airplane "skipped" off the runway and when emergency personnel arrived. According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the accident the pilot stated that the wind was from the west and he chose to land to the south. He stated that he noticed that his groundspeed "picked up" and he thought he had a tailwind. He elected to put the airplane on the runway and try to get it stopped. The airplane came to rest about 150 ft beyond the departure end of the 3,125 ft. long runway in a thickly wooded area. Both wings, the engine, and the fuselage sustained substantial damage. The carburetor heat was "hot", the throttle and mixture were full forward, and the wing flaps were retracted. Chordwise scratches and leading-edge polishing were visible on one propeller blade. The condition of the second propeller blade was not documented. Scuff marks were present on each main landing gear. Tree limbs and brush were broken off about 3 ft above the ground along the path of travel from the runway to the wreckage.