Cessna R172E N7889N accident near Fort Meade, Maryland

Probable cause

The flight instructor's decision to land the airplane without sufficient runway to stop, resulting in a runway excursion and substantial damage to the right wing of the airplane.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor, while giving instruction, stated he landed the tricycle landing gear equipped airplane at midfield in wind conditions that were reported from the SSW gusting to 23knots. Following a runway excursion on to soft terrain, the pilot said the airplane had come to a stop, undamaged, when "the nose wheel sank and the right wingtip contacted the dirt."

Witnesses reported that the airplane touched down midfield, braked hard, and did not come to a complete stop prior to the airplanes right wing striking the ground.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to flight that would have prevented normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA15CA030 for the full record.