N54959

On November 22, 1998, at 1410 central standard time, a Cessna 172P airplane, N54959, was substantially damaged during landing at the Fayetteville Municipal Airport near Fayetteville, Arkansas. The non-instrument rated private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by Robertson Aviation of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight which originated from the Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport near Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 1315.

During a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the 134 hour pilot stated that while landing on runway 16, "the wind shifted and gusted, pushing the airplane to the left side of the runway." According to the pilot, he was unable to react quick enough with rudder or power and impacted a taxiway marker and taxiway light.

At 1353, the wind at the Fayetteville Municipal Airport was reported from 190 degrees at 16 knots. Weather reports at the time of the accident did not reveal any gusts.

Examination of the airplane, by the FAA inspector, revealed that the left main landing gear was collapsed, the empenage was bent, and the horizontal stabilizer main spars were bent.