Event WPR20CA064

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported that while on approach for landing, the airplane encountered a crosswind gust near the ground. The pilot attempted to abort the landing, however, he could not arrest the descent and the airplane touched down hard on the runway on all three wheels. The airplane briefly became airborne and hit the runway hard again severing the left rear wheel. As a result of the impact, there was substantial damage to the airframe. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was light and variable. The airport's automated weather observation station reported that the wind was calm. The solo student pilot reported that, while on approach for landing, the airplane encountered a crosswind gust near the ground. The pilot attempted to abort the landing: however, he could not arrest the descent, and the airplane touched down hard on the runway. The airplane briefly became airborne and then hit the runway hard again, which resulted in the left rear wheel separating from the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the airframe. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent rate-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C