CHI99LA076

The student pilot reported that the airplane veered to the left of the runway despite his efforts to maintain runway alignment during the landing roll. The airplane contacted a snowbank and nosed down prior to righting itself. The pilot reported the runway was snow covered and icy.

On January 25, 1999, at 1615 central standard time, a Cessna 152, N752AA, being flown by a student pilot collided with a snowbank following a loss of directional control while landing on runway 21 (2,497'x75') at the Lake Elmo Airport, Lake Elmo, Minnesota. The pilot was not injured. The airplane received substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 solo instructional flight was being operated in visual meteorological conditions on a VFR flight plan. The flight originated from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, at 1530 cst.

The student stated that after landing he turned the yoke to the left, into the wind, and pulled back on the yoke enough to raise the nose and slow the airplane. He stated the runway was snow and ice covered so he did not want to use the brakes. Despite the pilot's efforts to maintain alignment with the centerline the airplane veered to the left of the runway where it contacted a snowbank. The pilot stated that he was in the process of shutting down the engine when the "... airplane suddenly lifted up from behind. The nose of the airplane went down into the snow in front of the airplane, and a bag and a box in the back of the airplane came over the front seats. It felt like the airplane was going to flip over, but the propeller just spun in the snow for a couple of seconds and then stopped and the airplane came back down on it's main wheel."

The accident occurred on the pilot's last landing at the end of a cross country flight. He had a total of 28 hours of flight time of which 5.8 hours were solo.