Cessna 172 N78755 accident near Bluffton, Ohio

Probable cause

The student pilot’s loss of control during climb after an aborted landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB analysis

On the day of the accident, the student pilot performed four takeoffs and landings with his flight instructor before he was cleared by the instructor for his second solo traffic pattern flight. The student pilot reported that upon touching down on the third solo landing the airplane was blown across the runway by a sudden crosswind, and he decided to abort the landing. The student pilot described that after applying full power and beginning to climb the airplane encountered an aerodynamic stall. Airport surveillance video confirmed that during the climb, the airplane was in a nose high pitch attitude and at relatively slow ground speed before it descended to the ground in a left turn. The airplane impacted a field to the left of the runway resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings and the vertical stabilizer. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA22LA267 for the full record.