KUTZTOWN, PA, USA
N5338E
Cessna 172
The student pilot radioed his intention to land on runway 35 over the UNICOM frequency, and was advised by another pilot that runway 10 was in use. The student then landed on runway 28. During the landing roll, the airplane veered right, departed the right side of the runway, and traveled into a cornfield. The student reported he had 84 hours of total flight experience, all in make and model, of which 20.5 hours were solo time. At an airport about 11 miles southwest of the accident site, the wind was resorted to be from 100 degrees at 10 knots.
On September 28, 1997, about 1330 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N5338E, was substantially damage while landing at the Kutztown Airport (N31), Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The student pilot (SP) was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the solo flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. In a written statement, the SP said he departed Decks Airport (9D4), Myerstown, Pennsylvania. After practicing maneuvers in the area, he performed and five short field landings at 9D4, and then flew to N31. He further stated: "...I radioed my intentions to land on runway 35 over the unicom. I was advised by a pilot that runway 10 was being used. I then went into, what I thought was my pattern for a runway 10 landing, and some how became disoriented and actually landed on [runway] 28. Upon landing, I wasn't able to stop in time, and left the runway, and went into a corn fied." According to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, the SP stated to him that during the landing flare the airplane floated and touched down mid-field, on the 2,260 foot runway. The airplane then veered right, departed the right side of the runway, and traveled into a cornfield, where it entered a ditch. In a telephone interview, the SP reported he had 84 hours of total flight experience, all in make and model, of which 20.5 hours were solo flight. He also stated, the majority of his solo flight time was accumulated on several cross country flights. Winds reported at an airport about 11 miles southwest of the accident site, at 1254, were from 100 degrees at 10 knots.
the student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve. Factors relating to the accident were: the student's pilot's selection of the wrong runway, the resultant tailwind, and the encounter with a cornfield beside the runway.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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