Cessna 172 N55245

Summary

On 19 August 2021 at about 13:05 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N55245 was involved in an accident near New Braunfels, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 2021 at 13:05

Classification

Accident

Location

New Braunfels, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

New Braunfels Rgnl (BAZ)

Coordinates

29.7075, -98.0415

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N55245

Category

Airplane

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

College Station → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA397

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot approached the airport to land with the wind generally aligned with the runway. The pilot reported that while on short final, he received a traffic alert from an on-board system alerting him to traffic on a short final. He continued the approach perceiving that performing a go-around would result in a potential mid-air collision. As he flared the airplane the wind quickly shifted to a direct crosswind which resulted in the right main landing gear touching down earlier than expected. The pilot applied a slight increase in power to prevent the nose landing gear from impacting the runway. The wind then reportedly shifted to a direct tailwind and the pilot lost control of the airplane. The nosewheel contacted the runway hard at which time the pilot performed a go-around. He landed the airplane without further incident. An examination of the airplane found substantial damage to the firewall and lower fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.