Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The student pilot's inadequate compensation for the crosswind that resulted in the failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. Factors associated with the accident were the crosswind, the ditch, the student's lack of experience, and the poor in-flight planning decision to land on a runway with a direct crosswind.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
On September 26, 2000, at 1445 central daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N98629, nosed over following a loss of directional control while landing on runway 16 (5,001 feet by 100 feet) at the Palwaukee Airport, Wheeling, Illinois. The student pilot was not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 91 solo instructional cross-country flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions and a VFR flight plan was filed. The airplane last departed Janesville, Wisconsin, at 1430 central daylight time.
The student pilot reported he received a weather briefing from the Kankakee Flight Service Station prior to the cross-country flight. The pilot reported that upon returning to the Palwaukee Airport (his original departure point), he was cleared to land on runway 16 with the winds from 250 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 17 knots. Upon landing, the airplane traveled off the right side of the runway where it contacted a drainage ditch and nosed over.
The student pilot's logbook was endorsed for the cross-country flight. The endorsement contained a 7 knots crosswind limitation. Palwaukee Airport has another runway which is oriented 24/06. According to a Cessna 172P Information Manual, the maximum demonstrated crosswind component for the airplane is 15 knots.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CHI00LA309