Primary finding
Probable cause
the student pilot's failure to maintain adequate control of the aircraft during the touch and go landing. Related factors were the crosswind condition and the student pilot's lack of experience.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot stated that after landing the aircraft started to drift left. He indicated that instead of attempting to straighten the aircraft, he put the flaps up, carburetor heat in and applied full power to go-around. The aircraft departed the left side of the runway into the grass and struck a car and snow plow. A weather observation taken 3 minutes after the accident reported winds out of 150 degrees at 10 knots. The runway in use was runway 24.
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 14, 1996, at about 1745 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N67557, sustained substantial damage while doing touch and go landings on runway 24 at the Roanoke Airport, in Roanoke, Virginia. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The local solo instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, and originated from Roanoke, Virginia, at about 1620. The student pilot said that he spent more than an hour of the flight in the practice area, practicing flight maneuvers, before he returned to the airport to practice touch and go landings. He indicated that there was a slight left crosswind, but he stated, "I did not think it would be a factor. I had some trouble maintaining directional control on my first two touch and goes but ascribed it to my lack of speed and smoothness in [transitioning] for takeoff." The student pilot reported that, on his last approach, when he flared he but did not have enough right rudder in and the aircraft drifted left as he touched down. He said that instead of attempting to straighten the airplane, he put the flaps up, carb heat in and applied full power to go-around. He said the airplane departed the left side of the runway into the grass median between the runway and taxiway and impacted a car and snow plow. A weather observation taken at Roanoke at 1748, 3 minutes after the accident occurred, reported winds out of 150 at 10 knots. -