Cessna 172F N8205U

Summary

On 26 January 2005 at about 16:30 local time, a Cessna 172F registered N8205U was involved in an accident near Willmar, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 January 2005 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Willmar, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Willmar Muni-John L Rice Field (ILL)

Coordinates

45.1156, -95.0889

Aircraft

Cessna 172F

Registration

N8205U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Willmar → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05CA058

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to properly compensate for the crosswind conditions and his failure to maintain directional control during the landing rollout. Contributing factors were the crosswind and the snow bank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was substantially damaged when the student pilot lost directional control during landing rollout and impacted a snow bank along the runway edge. The pilot stated that he had returned from a local solo instructional flight. He noted that winds had increased from 6 knots to 12 knots during the flight. The wind direction had not changed and presented approximately a 60-degree right crosswind. He reported that during the initial landing attempt the airplane drifted to the left and he elected to execute a go-around. He noted that the second approach was "fine." He stated: "When I touched down I put more aileron [in] but still started to drift left. I could feel the right wing come up and I was making a point to use more aileron. I was still drifting and went [through] the snow at the edge of the runway which broke the nose wheel off. The plane then dropped to the ground and skidded for about 30 feet." The outboard section of the left wing was "buckled" during the accident sequence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.