Primary finding
Probable cause
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing, which resulted in a ground swerve and subsequent nose over.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot was performing touch-and-go landings on runway 9R. During a landing, the airplane was observed on short final drifting to the north of the runway. The airplane touched down, departed the left side of the runway into the grass, and nosed over. No preimpact mechanical problem was reported. The wind was reported to be from 040 degrees at 5 knots.
Source record
Factual narrative
On June 19, 1996, about 1330 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N11532, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91, local, training flight, crashed in the vicinity of Sanford, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the student pilot was not injured. The pilot was performing touch-and-go landings on runway 9R. On the accident landing, the flight was observed on short final drifting to the north of the runway. The flight touched down, departed the left side of the runway into the grass, and nosed over. The pilot's father, and her flight instructor, stated to the NTSB that he asked his daughter if she could have applied the brakes unevenly when she touched down. She could not recall exactly what happened, but she told her dad "that it was possible." The reported winds at the time of the accident were from 040 degrees at 5. -