N2630B

On February 7, 2000, about 1435 central standard time, a Cessna 172R, N2630B, registered to Douglas Aviation, Inc., operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, crashed during a landing at Olive Branch, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane received substantial damage and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from the same airport about 55 minutes before the accident.

According to the assistant chief flight instructor for the flight school, the student pilot was conducting practice landings when he overcorrected for a crosswind condition and ran off the side of the runway, colliding with a runway sign.

According to the student pilot, he had made one successful touch-and-go landing, and the accident happened on his second landing, at touchdown. Upon main landing gear touchdown, the airplane swerved left and he corrected with right rudder. Upon application of right rudder, the right main landing gear came off the ground, and he then applied heavy braking to both main wheels. The airplane exited the runway and the right main landing gear collapsed as it collided with a taxiway sign. The airplane came to rest on its right side, severely bending the right horizontal stabilizer. He stated that he experienced no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane on landing, and that he may have inadvertently stepped on the left toe brake.

Inspection of the airplane by FAA personnel revealed no evidence of precrash abnormalities with the flight controls. The right main landing gear and the nose gear revealed ground collision damage, but there was no evidence of propeller damage. The right horizontal stabilizer spar was broken.