The student pilot reported that during a cross-country solo flight, he overflew the airport in Appleton, Minnesota, to assess the runway conditions. He observed that the windsock indicated that he would be landing with a crosswind from the right, and he determined that the runway was suitable for landing.
During the landing roll, the Cessna 172 encountered ice on the runway and drifted to the left. He added power to abort the landing, but the airplane exited the left side of the runway and hit a runway light.
He pulled back on the yoke and the airplane climbed momentarily, but it did not have enough airspeed to sustain flight. The airplane touched down on the left side of the runway and nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the right wing strut.
The pilot reported that the wind during landing was from 180° at 10 knots with no gusts. He landed on Runway 13.
The student pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The student pilot’s loss of directional control while landing on an ice-covered runway and his failure to attain sufficient airspeed during a subsequent aborted landing, which resulted in a nose-over.
This January 2019 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Too much airspeed, more skidding.
Too little airspeed, no go around.
If a sign off for the solo x-country was needed perhaps just a picture on his cellphone would be suitable!
Drove a semi through Appleton, icy weather, late evening in ’76. No traffic was good since I ran every stop light down main street. If I tried to stop the truck would slid off the road into parked cars.