N5242R

On March 19, 1999, at 1535 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172M, N5242R, veered off runway 16L and collided with a metal ILS antennae while landing at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada. The aircraft was on the return leg of a solo cross-country flight that had departed the Susanville Municipal Airport in Susanville, California, under 14 CFR Part 91. The aircraft, owned and operated by Nevada-Cal Aero of Reno, sustained substantial damage. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Susanville at 1300.

A Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the Reno Flight Standards District Office was on scene when the accident occurred. In an oral statement to the inspector, the student pilot stated he encountered 10-knot winds from 150 degrees with slight gusts during his approach. He applied 10 degrees of flaps in a left wing down attitude. He then unexpectedly encountered a left-to-right crosswind which proceeded to "blow the aircraft off the runway." The left wing struck a metal ILS antennae, causing the wing strut to bend and pop rivets.

The student pilot had received an endorsement for this solo cross-country originating at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, with a landing at the Susanville Municipal Airport, and a final destination to return to the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. He had approximately 70 hours logged, of which 24 hours were solo flight time.