Primary finding
Probable cause
the student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during a touch-and-go landing, which resulted in a ground swerve. The gusty crosswind condition was a related factor.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot was executing a touch and go landing on runway 18. During touchdown, the airplane encountered a gust of wind, the student lost directional control of the airplane, and the airplane was damaged. According to the student, the wind was calm during a previous touch-and-go landing; however, at the time of the accident the wind had increased to eight knots with gusts to twelve knots.
Source record
Factual narrative
On September 12, 1996, about 1030 central daylight time, a Cessna 177, N29464, collided with the ground during the go-around from a touch and go landing at Lyon, Mississippi. The airplane was operated by Win Delta Air, Inc. under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan was not filed for the local, solo, instructional flight. The student pilot was not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. Origination of the flight was Lyon about 1000, on the same day. According to the operator, a gust of wind occurred as the student was landing the airplane on runway 18. The student failed to maintain directional control during the go-around. He stated that there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions of the airplane. The wind at Greenville, Mississippi, about 56 miles southwest of Lyon, was reported at 0950 as 320 degrees at 2 knots. The pilot's report of the accident recorded the wind, at the time of the accident, as 270 degrees at 8 knots with gusts to 12 knots. He also stated in his report that the wind indications were calm just prior to the accident, as they were during a previous touch and go landing. -