The student pilot was conducting a solo cross-country flight and was preparing to return to his home airport.
After takeoff, he observed a storm cloud along his intended route of flight and elected to return to the airport in Statesboro, Georgia, to wait for it to pass.
Prior to touching down, he observed an airplane on the opposing runway flying directly towards him. He veered to the right to avoid a collision and landed on the remaining runway, however, he stated that he panicked and failed to reduce power and apply sufficient braking.
The Cessna 172 exited the runway, proceeded down an embankment, and hit an airport perimeter fence before it came to rest, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing.
Probable Cause: The student pilot’s failure to reduce power and apply sufficient braking after landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and impact with objects and terrain.
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This October 2021 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.
1 hour in the last 90 days and taking a cross country flight? The accident occurred at 1830, sundown was 1857; sounds like an ill-advised flight for a student pilot.
He might have had a tailwind as well. The aircraft he was avoiding was taking off in the opposite direction.
According to the documents and statements in the file for this, the winds favored the runway this student pilot was using for landing. If the twin was taking off, it was doing so into a landing aircraft. If the twin was landing, it was doing so with a tail wind.