- Date
- October 29, 2006, 11:07 local (16:07 UTC)
- Place
- Morgantown, WV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N952ACCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 26, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Charleston, WV
- FAA report
- 20061029028829A
- Case key
- 64773
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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control and the flight instructor's improper planning and supervision of the student's solo cross country flight. A contributing factor was the wind gusts.
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 student pilot departed from his home airport on a solo cross-country flight. He performed a "touch and go" at his first destination. He then proceeded to his second intended destination but, his first approach to the runway was "too high" so he executed a go around. He then attempted to land a second time. Due to "gusting winds," he was unable to land and elected to return to his home airport. Upon arriving at his home airport, he found that the wind was also gusting and his plane "floated" during the flare for landing. He attempted to go around, but the right wing "rose up" abruptly, the plane veered to the left, and struck trees. The student pilot's flight instructor reviewed the wind conditions prior to the student pilot's flight, and completed a logbook endorsement, which included a limitation of a 15-knot maximum headwind and 12-knot maximum crosswind. Winds at the approximate time of departure were forecast to be gusting to 25 knots. A weather observation made 15 minutes prior to the accident recorded the wind to be varying in direction 70 degrees, and gusting to 23 knots.
Factual narrative
The student pilot departed from his home airport on a solo cross-country flight. He performed a "touch and go" at his first destination. He then proceeded to his second intended destination but, his first approach to the runway was "too high" so he executed a go around. He then attempted to land a second time. Due to "gusting winds," he was unable to land and elected to return to his home airport. Upon arriving at his home airport, he found that the wind was also gusting and his plane "floated" during the flare for landing. He attempted to go around, but the right wing "rose up" abruptly, the plane veered to the left, and struck trees. The student pilot's flight instructor reviewed the wind conditions prior to the student pilot's flight, and completed a logbook endorsement, which included a limitation of a 15-knot maximum headwind and 12-knot maximum crosswind. Winds at the approximate time of departure were forecasted to be gusting to 25 knots. A weather observation made 15 minutes prior to the accident recorded the wind to be varying in direction 70 degrees, and gusting to 23 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N952AC
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268001
- Airframe hours
- 10,531.4
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Flight Source LLC.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 1, 2006 · 22.7 hours before
- Departed
- PKB · Parkersburg, WV
- Destination
- MGW · Morgantown, WV
- Airport
- MGW · Morgantown Municipal Airport, runway 23, 2,769 × 75 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
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 52 total · 52 in this make and model · 8 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 8 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.82 inHg
- Observed at
- MGW
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 N952AC · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.