The pilot had just purchased the Acro Sport II and this was his first flight in it.
While performing a touch-and-go-landing at the airport in Skiatook, Oklahoma, with a left gusting crosswind, the airplane veered right, departed the runway, and hit a runway light.
The left main landing gear separated, and the airplane came to rest in the grass next to the taxiway.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and lower wings, while the pilot sustained minor injuries in the crash.
At the time of the accident, the airplane was landing on Runway 18 with wind variable at 12 knots with gusts to 21 knots. The pilot reported that he did not look at the windsock before the landing.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing in a gusting crosswind.
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This April 2023 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.
Otto, JBP brought out the obvious. The pilot made a critical error that could have been avoided more easily than getting a visual check on your fuel level (amazing how many crashes neglecting to do this one protocol causes).This is very sad in that it could potentially have been so easily prevented… and yes, the insurance rates go up- again.
Didn’t look at the wind sock, eh? Ignorance is bliss and very costly.
Regards/J
And there you go again JBP, a non-pilot who is particularly critical of us licensed pilots and certified mechanics. We have been accepting of your comments so far, since many of them are reasonable, and we are open to a non-pilots viewpoint, until you start being critical of us and of things you have no experience with personally. And please spare me the “but I have friends who are pilots” line, like that qualifies you somehow.