ATL97LA105

Factual narrative

On July 15, 1997, about 1830 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N737EV, collided with a sign when it veered off the runway during landing at the Lakeland Airport, Lakeland, Florida. The airplane was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed for the local, instructional flight. The student pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight originated from Lakeland about 1800 on the same day. The student pilot stated that she was practicing solo touch and go landings but had elected to make a full stop landing on runway 09 when the accident occurred. According to the pilot, she noticed turbulence while on approach, and recalled that she did not receive any wind change information from Air Traffic ControL, and continued onto final. She said that upon landing and flare, she experienced "high winds" causing the plane to veer off the runway to the left. The aircraft traveled through the grass and struck a runway marking sign, causing substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator, and minor damage to the landing gear. According to the FAA, the winds were reported from 200 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 20 knots. While practicing landings on runway 09, the student pilot experienced a quartering tailwind of 10 knots, gusting to 20 knots. Subsequently, the airplane landed in grass to the left side of the runway. Before stopping, the aircraft hit a runway marking sign, damaging the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The winds were reported to be from 200 degrees. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12