Runway excursion Accident Cessna 172R N997MC,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 311993
 
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Date:Thursday 28 January 2021
Time:12:45 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic C172 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna 172R
Owner/operator:Aeroventures Flying Club Inc
Registration: N997MC
MSN: 17280039
Year of manufacture:1997
Total airframe hrs:1615 hours
Engine model:Lycoming IO-360-L2A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Lawrenceville, Georgia -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Greenville Downtown Airport, SC (GMU/KGMU)
Destination airport:Lawrenceville-Gwinnett County Briscoe Field, GA (LZU/KLZU)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
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.

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.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ERA21LA119
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 6 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB ERA21LA119

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
03-May-2023 05:54 ASN Update Bot Added

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