Cessna 172M N1141U accident near Tomball, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot did not maintain directional control during landing, which led to a runway excursion and nose-over of the airplane.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to gain experience operating the airplane in crosswind conditions. During landing, when the airplane was about 20 feet above the ground, a wind gust arrested the descent and pushed the airplane to the right of the runway centerline. The pilot corrected for the drift and re-established alignment with the runway centerline. When the airplane was a few feet above the runway, another wind gust resulted in the airplane contacting the runway with the left main landing gear. The pilot corrected with right rudder, but the side loading of the landing gear had altered the airplane’s runway alignment to the left and it went off the left side of the runway. The pilot attempted to correct with right rudder and right braking, but the nose wheel sunk into wet ground and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot indicated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations. The pilot reported that the wind condition at the time of the landing was about 50 degrees left of runway heading at 13 kts gusting to 23 kts. The recorded weather observation about the time of the accident recorded wind about 20 degrees left of runway heading at 8 kts, gusting to 21 kts.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22LA173 for the full record.