- Date
- May 9, 2001, 17:05 local (22:05 UTC)
- Place
- West Chicago, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N13474Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 21, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Du Page FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010509013629A
- Case key
- 52239
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The inadequate compensation for the crosswind by the student pilot. Additional factors included the student pilot's lack of total flight time, the runway sign and the crosswind.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The right main landing gear collapsed when it struck a runway sign after a loss of directional control during landing. The student pilot reported, "At the point which I wanted to touchdown, my airspeed was still greater than I wanted, so I kept the aircraft off the ground until I reached a slower airspeed. I encountered a gust of wind, which pushed the plane left with the wind, and at the same time I touched the ground. As I touched the ground the plane immediately headed off the runway. The result was hitting a runway marking sign causing the right main landing gear to collapse and causing damage to the right stabilizer." The student pilot also stated, "I did not have enough crosswind correction for the winds, which caused my situation." The student pilot had a total of 18 hours of flight time, and the accident flight was the second solo flight.
Factual narrative
On May 9, 2001, at 1705 central daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N13474, was substantially damaged during landing. The airplane veered of the left side of the runway striking a sign and collapsing the right main landing gear. The student pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 local, instructional, student solo flight had departed Du Page Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois, at 1700 on the student's second supervised solo flight. The airplane was landing on runway 19 (6,700 feet by 100 feet, dry asphalt). At 1700, the winds at DPA were reported as 240 degrees at 13 kts. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported, "At the point which I wanted to touchdown, my airspeed was still greater than I wanted, so I kept the aircraft off the ground until I reached a slower airspeed. I encountered a gust of wind, which pushed the plane left with the wind, and at the same time I touched the ground. As I touched the ground the plane immediately headed off the runway. The result was hitting a runway marking sign causing the right main landing gear to collapse and causing damage to the right stabilizer." The pilot also stated, "I did not have enough crosswind correction for the winds, which caused my situation." The student pilot had a total of 18 hours of flight time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N13474
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17262777
- Airframe hours
- 5,191.5
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Illinois Aviation Academy
- Registered owner
- Flying W Leasing Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2000 · 682.4 hours before
- Departed
- DPA · West Chicago, IL
- Airport
- DPA · Du Page Airport, runway 19R, 6,700 × 100 ft, concrete
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 18 total · 18 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- DPA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N13474 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.