N20931 – Cessna 172M – 2006-10-31 NTSB Accident Report

On October 31, 2006, a Cessna 172M (N20931) was involved in an incident near Wakefield, VA. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The student pilot's failure to maintain control during the landing. A factor to the accident was the wind gusts.

While on a solo cross country flight in a Cessna 172M, the student pilot elected to divert instead of continuing with his planned flight after the airplane's radios began to operate intermittently and the electrical system failed. During the landing at the diversionary airport, the winds were gusting at 18 to 25 knots, though the winds had been originally forecast to be favorable for his route of flight. During the landing the airplane lost "lift," touched down on the nose landing gear, and porpoised about three times before the student pilot was able to regain control. A post accident examination of the airplane revealed that it had incurred substantial damage. No anomalies with the electrical system were discovered.

This incident is documented in NTSB report NYC07CA019. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N20931.