The student pilot reported he was on a solo cross-country flight in the Piper PA-28-140.
The runway conditions at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska, were reported as good, braking deceleration and directional control was normal.
As the airplane crossed over the approach end of the runway, the pilot felt he needed to lose a little more airspeed and held a flare a little longer and landed further down the runway.
Upon touchdown the airplane began to slide to the left of centerline. The pilot attempted a go-around maneuver by adding power.
He was unable to correct back to centerline, which resulted in a runway excursion.
The airplane hit taxiway signs and lights, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing.
The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This November 2022 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.
Risk mitigation is the name of the game, and should have started before the flight. Once in the air my personal thought is that landing on the numbers or aiming point is always the goal for this reason. On very slippery or icy runways, I would rather plant the wheels firmly than float the flare.
As a CFI reading accident reports like this, I wonder if the instructor drilled into this student the importance of touching down in the first third of the runway and the importance of a stabilized approach, and making the go around decision promptly if there is any uncertainty. Or did the student just use poor judgement. Either way, the CFI has responsibility in assessing both skill and judgment before releasing for solo.
fwiw, at the end of the NTSB document,
“ had the runway been reported correctly, the flight would not have launched in the first place “
bent metal on airplanes is always a sorry sight. but this one wasn’t too bad. the runway at my home base ices over from time to time. thanks for sharing this with us. i have not specifically heard of this error sequence before.