Plainfield, CT, USA
N62152
Cessna 172P
The student pilot was landing on runway 02, 3,612-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. He reported a crosswind of about 90 degrees from the left, with winds at 8 to 10 knots. After touchdown, the airplane veered off the right side of the runway, struck a ditch and came to rest inverted. The pilot did not report and mechanical malfunctions. A nearby airport reported the winds from 280 degrees at 10 knots.
On July 25, 2003, about 1300 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N62152, was substantially damaged while landing at Robertson Field, Plainville, Connecticut. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the solo instructional flight. No flight plan had been filed for the flight that originated from Groton, Connecticut, and was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot's written statement: "I was approaching to land at Robertson Field on runway 2 with a slight crosswind. I touched down gently in the center of the runway, then immediately began to skid to my right. The plane was mostly on the left main wheel while skidding. I then hit the grass which turned me into the ditch and the airplane flipped over, landing upside down in the ditch...." A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who visited the accident site reported that skid marks were visible on the runway. The marks started about 1/3 of the way down the runway, and over a distance of about 250 to 300 feet, veered to the right and departed the runway. The airplane came to rest beyond where the skid marks departed the runway. In an interview with an FAA inspector, the pilot reported that he was returning from a solo cross-country flight. Upon arrival at Plainville, the winds were a crosswind from the left, near 90 degrees, at 8 to 10 knots. The pilot stated he did not experience any mechanical malfunctions. The 1251 weather observation from Bradley Field (BDL), Windsor Locks, Connecticut, which was located 16.6 nautical miles northeast of the accident site, reported that the winds were from 280 degrees at 10 knots. According to data from the FAA, runway 02 was 3,612 feet long, and 75 feet wide, with an asphalt surface.
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control, which resulted in a collision with a ditch. A factor in this accident was the crosswind condition.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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