ERA13CA140

Factual narrative

According to the student pilot, he was practicing touch and go landings. After successfully completing five landings, he noticed the wind increasing and decided to make one last landing. As the airplane landed on the runway, it was struck by a gust of wind, the airplane veered right, and the student pilot attempted to regain control by applying the brakes. He was unable to control the airplane, it struck a tree, turned 90 degrees to the right, and came to rest in a grassy area. The airplane incurred substantial damage to the firewall during the accident sequence. The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In addition, he reported the wind around the time of the accident was about 40 degrees from the left at 4 to 6 knots, gusting to 9 knots. According to the student pilot, he was practicing touch-and-go landings. After successfully completing five landings, he noticed that the wind speed was increasing and decided to make one last landing. As the airplane landed, it was struck by a gust of wind and then veered right. The student pilot attempted to regain control by applying the brakes. However, he was unable to control the airplane; it struck a tree, turned 90 degrees to the right, and came to rest in a grassy area. The airplane incurred substantial damage to the firewall during the accident sequence. The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In addition, he reported the wind about the time of the accident was about 40 degrees from the left at 4 to 6 knots, gusting to 9 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C