During a solo cross-country flight the student pilot had attempted to land twice at the airport in Redlands, Calif., but due to the gusty wind conditions he had aborted the attempts. On the third attempt, the gusty wind conditions had not changed.
The student pilot reported that his approach speed was never low enough to extend the flaps beyond 10°.
On touchdown the Cessna 172S bounced twice, and on the third touchdown point he reported he was “far down the runway and still had a lot of speed.”
The student pilot determined that the airplane was traveling too fast to stop prior to the runway ending, so he attempted to turn left at the runway end taxiway. The airplane did not negotiate the turn and it departed the taxiway and into a drainage ditch.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the landing gear and to the right wing.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the student pilot’s improper flare and unsuccessful attempt to correct a bounced landing, which resulted in the overrun landing.
NTSB Identification: WPR13CA328
This July 2013 accident report is are provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
That airport has a runway with a steep slope from east to west. The visual clues are not good and there is a deep gravel ditch along side the runway. A solo pilot should not have been signed off to that airport by an instructor. What a shame to ruin a good airplane and the confidence of a potential future pilot.