Cessna 172L N9816G accident near Millinocket, Maine

Probable cause

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing.

NTSB analysis

According to the student pilot, he was on a solo cross country flight. While arriving at the destination airport he decided the wind was favoring runway 29. He positioned the airplane for landing. While on final approach, he experienced a left crosswind for only a short period of time and continued with the approach. On landing, the pilot flared “normally”, but encountered a wind gust from the left just before the landing gear touched down. The airplane began to weathervane to the left and the pilot applied power along with full right rudder and right aileron to counteract the turn; however, the right main landing gear touched down and the airplane traveled to the right side of the runway. The pilot “released the throttle” and, with the left wing and left main landing gear in the air, the airplane continued to the left side of the runway and subsequently the right main landing gear collapsed. The airplane eventually came to rest on the runway. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the right wing and firewall. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that could have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the wind was reported as variable at 4 knots.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA13CA266 for the full record.