Cessna 172N N3015E accident near Perry, Georgia

Probable cause

The student pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions during landing. Contributing to the accident were the gusting winds.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot of the airplane departed and flew for approximately 1 hour before returning to find stronger, gusting winds. He initially intended to do "some touch and go landings," but due to the wind conditions, he opted to end the flight with a single, full stop landing. Due to the gusts, the pilot made a go-around on his first approach. He used a reduced flap setting of 20 degrees for his second approach, and during the flare, a gust of wind caused the airplane to "balloon." The pilot attempted to recover by adding power, but the airplane landed hard, nose gear first, bounced, and then landed normally. The pilot taxied to the terminal without further incident. The pilot did not experience any preimpact failures or malfunctions with the airplane. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The weather observation at an airport 11 miles to the northeast, about the time of the accident, showed winds from 250 degrees, at 8 knots, with gusts to 16 knots.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for NYC08CA110 for the full record.