Santa Barbara, CA, USA
N8258S
Piper PA-28-161
The aircraft collided with a runway marker sign during landing while the student pilot was on his first solo cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, while flaring for landing, he encountered a 'strong' crosswind from the right and that he landed with the aircraft angled toward the left side of the 75-foot-wide runway. He tried to correct his path back toward the runway centerline but struck a runway perimeter sign on the left edge of the runway with the left main landing gear. Thirty-five minutes before the accident, a quartering right headwind was reported at 6 knots and 25 minutes after the accident a quartering right headwind was reported at 7 knots.
On November 10, 1998, at 1430 hours Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-28-161, N8258S, was substantially damaged when it veered off runway 15L and collided with a runway marker during landing at the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, Santa Barbara, California. The student pilot was not injured. The aircraft was being operated by Skyward Aviation under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the solo cross-country instructional flight. The pilot reported that, while flaring for landing, he encountered a "strong" crosswind from the right and that he landed with the aircraft angled toward the left side of the 75-foot-wide runway. The pilot tried to correct his path back toward the runway centerline but struck a runway perimeter sign on the left edge of the runway with the left main landing gear. At 1353, the Santa Barbara surface wind was reported from 200 degrees at 6 knots and at 1453 was reported from 220 degrees at 7 knots.
The pilot's inadequate compensation for the existing crosswind condition and failure to maintain proper runway alignment during landing flare.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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