Flight History
The student pilot was conducting a solo cross-country flight. The first leg was from Andrews AFB, Maryland, to Farmville, Virginia. She became lost and landed at Crewe Airport, approximately 20 miles from Farmville. After determining her location, she contacted her flight instructor (CFI), and they agreed for her to continue the flight.
The last leg of the flight was from Portsmouth, Virginia, back to Andrews AFB. She became lost again and contacted Richmond ATCT, requesting flight following to Andrews AFB. She was asked to squawk a transponder code but did not respond, and radio communication with her was lost. She elected to land at a nearby airport.
Loss of Navigation
There had been several breaks in the student's flight training due to her work schedule and an extended temporary duty (TDY). According to her logbook, her instructor had signed her off for a cross-country flight on March 18, 1995, 25 days before the accident. During that 25-day period, she flew 0.9 hours solo on March 18, 1995, and received 1.1 hours of dual instruction on April 29, 1995. After that, she did not fly again until departing on the solo cross-country flight. She had a total flight time of 62.8 hours, including 21.5 hours of solo flight time.
Landing Accident
During the landing at the nearby airport, the airplane touched down at the departure end of the runway. It continued beyond the end of the runway and collided with a fence and fence post.