- Date
- June 2, 2003, 13:10 local (18:10 UTC)
- Place
- Gainesville, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N51611Cessna 172P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Flight Standards District Office (SW19)
- FAA report
- 20030602011339A
- Case key
- 57100
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 while landing. Contributing factors were the prevailing crosswind and the pilot's failure to abort landing.
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 33-hour student pilot was not able to maintain directional control while landing with a right crosswind. The student pilot reported that as he landed, a wind gust blew the aircraft to the far left of the runway. The student pilot applied right rudder, right aileron, full power, carburetor heat in, and removed 10 degrees of flaps. The pilot then added full power to go-around. The airplane departed the 100-foot wide runway to the left, and impacted the windsock. At 1306, the GLE Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) reported the winds from 260 degrees at 10 knots.
Factual narrative
On June 2, 2003, approximately 1310 central daylight time, a Cessna 172P single-engine airplane, N51611, was substantially damaged following a loss of directional control while attempting an aborted landing at the Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE), near Gainesville, Texas. The student pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by Delta Qualiflight of Fort Worth, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The round robin flight originated at the Fort Worth Meacham Airport (FTW), near Fort Worth, Texas, at 1145, with an intermediate stop at GLE, and back to FTW.
The 33-hour student pilot reported that as he landed on Runway 17, a gust of wind blew the aircraft to the far left of the runway. The student pilot applied right rudder, right aileron, full power, carburetor heat in, and removed 10 degrees of flaps. The pilot stated, "The sudden wind gust kept blowing the plane further left into the grass. The speed was not building, I increased right rudder and aileron trying to get the aircraft airborne and under control." The pilot then added full power to go-around. The airplane departed the 100-foot wide runway to the left, and impacted the windsock. The student pilot added that the airplane "would not lift off after adding power."
Examination of the wreckage by the operator, revealed that the left wing separated, and the fuselage separated aft of the cabin bulkhead.
At 1306, the GLE Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) reported the winds from 260 degrees at 10 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, sky clear, temperature 30 degrees Celsius, dewpoint 19 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.79 inches of Mercury. The density altitude was calculated by the Investigator-In-Charge at 2,937 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51611
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274329
- Airframe hours
- 5,021
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- DELTA Qualiflight
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 11, 2003 · 58 hours before
- Departed
- FTW · Fort Worth, TX
- Destination
- GLE · Gainesville, TX
- Airport
- KGLE · Gainesville Municipal, runway 17, 5,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 33 total · 33 in this make and model · 2 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 10 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- GLE
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 N51611 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.