Cessna 172

Full Narrative

The student pilot and flight instructor prepared to land on runway 14 with partial flaps and a reported wind from 190° at 17 knots. When they turned onto final approach, the flight instructor noticed that the airplane was too high and not aligned with the runway. As the airplane approached the touchdown point, they encountered turbulence. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and executed a right wing-low partial slip. The airplane touched down halfway down the 3,740-ft runway with a high ground speed. The flight instructor applied brakes and they immediately locked, so he released the brakes and tried reapplying them. The airplane did not decelerate as expected. The airplane struck several airport lights, then traveled through two barbed wire fences; the right main landing gear separated, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the fuselage and horizontal stabilizer sustained substantial damage.

After the flight instructor and student pilot exited the airplane, they noticed the windsock indicated a strong quartering tailwind. The flight instructor said that the accident was caused by this undetected shift in wind direction, from a quartering headwind to a quartering tailwind. He also cited the incorrect decision to continue the approach and landing when the airplane was not stabilized on the approach.