ERA21LA119

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172R · Lawrenceville, GA · January 28, 2021

Accident · No injuriesClass 4 · LimitedFinal report
Date
January 28, 2021, 10:45 local (15:45 UTC)
Place
Lawrenceville, GA · KLZU (Runway 25)
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N997MCCessna 172R
Defining event
Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
Investigation class
Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA / FSDO
FAA report
20210128000679A
Case key
102571

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 pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing in a gusting crosswind, which resulted in a loss of control and runway excursion.

Findings · 4

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotCessna 172R: 75 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Wind: crosswindEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Response/compensationCessna 172R: 11 casesAll aircraft: 1,008 casesProbable cause
Wind: gustsEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Response/compensationCessna 172R: 10 casesAll aircraft: 1,199 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: directional controlAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna 172R: 37 casesAll aircraft: 3,958 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

The pilot was returning to his home airport after a short trip. Other than mild turbulence, there was nothing eventful about the trip. Upon nearing the airport and listening to the weather, he understood that winds were gusting from the northwest at 12 to 20 knots. This was on the high end of his personal minimums, but within the tolerance range that he had flown in the past. As he was preparing to land, he experienced some greater turbulence and crosswinds. The air traffic controller in the control tower gave him a straight in approach, and subsequently cleared him to land on runway 25. The approach was turbulent, and the plane was being bounced and pushed left intermittently. Due to the wind gust advisory, he landed with only 10°of flaps and about 10 knots more airspeed. His estimated speed over the threshold of the runway was about 70 knots. He stated that it was pretty gusty crossing the runway threshold. He landed the airplane and once the nosewheel was down, he started braking. Unexpectedly the plane moved to the left quickly. It seemed to him as though a large gust hit the airplane from the northwest side and pushed the airplane sharply to the left. He worked to counter the movement with right rudder but was unsuccessful in stopping the momentum. He nearly kept the airplane on the pavement, but the left tire just slipped off the edge of the runway. When the left tire contacted the newly sodded turf, combined with the recent heavy rain; the tire sunk quickly, as the turf was soft and very muddy. This rapid deceleration, and the left tire being off the pavement, caused the rear of the plane to “rise” and the propeller struck the runway. With this motion, and the left tire being below the pavement, the airplane pivoted to the left, and the left-wing tip struck the surface. The airplane came to rest on its landing gear, just off the runway surface.

Aircraft

Registration
N997MC
Reported as
Cessna 172R
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17280039
Built
1997
Airframe hours
1,615
Engine
Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Aeroventures Flying Club Inc
Registered owner
Aeroventures Flying Club Inc
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · December 1, 2020
Departed
GMU · Lawrenceville, GA
Destination
LZU · Lawrenceville, GA
Airport
LZU · Gwinnett County - Briscoe Fld, runway 25, 6,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device

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
52
Injuries
None
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
November 23, 2020
Seat
Left
Restraint
3-point
Flight hours
121 total · 119 in this make and model · 59 as pilot in command · 53 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Variable at 9 knots, gusting 18
Visibility
10 statute miles
Temperature
32 °F, dew point 32 °F
Altimeter
30.39 inHg
Observed at
KLZU
METAR
KLZU 281546Z 29009G18KT 250V330 10SM CLR A3039 RMK AO2 $

Docket · 4

The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 14, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.8 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.