Piper PA-28-161 N562PU accident near Fort Pierce, Florida

Probable cause

The flight instructor’s delayed remedial action and failure to maintain directional control during a crosswind landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot was flying with the flight instructor to practice unassisted landings for the first time. The flight instructor stated that due to the gusting right crosswind, the approaches were bumpy, and the airspeed fluctuated. During the third landing of the flight, on the final approach, the airplane began to drift to the right of the runway centerline. The airplane’s nose veered right when the student pilot flared and although the flight instructor attempted to recover, the airplane had insufficient airspeed and sank toward the runway. Upon landing, the airplane travelled to the right, departed the runway, and impacted runway signage. The right main landing gear assembly separated from the airplane upon impact with runway signage, and the airplane pivoted on the right wing before coming to rest in the grass.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuselage sustained substantial damage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and that she should have instructed the student to perform a go-around procedure when the approach became unstable.

The recorded wind at the time of the accident was a direct right crosswind at 8 knots and did not reference gusting.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA21LA175 for the full record.