What happened
The student pilot was conducting a routine training flight involving a crosswind approach to Runway 23. As the aircraft descended for landing, the pilot encountered significant wind shear conditions. According to the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS), winds were reported from 290 degrees at 20 knots with gusts reaching 30 knots.
During the flare and touchdown phase, a sudden gust of wind caused the airplane to balloon upward momentarily. This loss of lateral control resulted in the aircraft veering sharply to the left side of the runway. Unable to recover, the airplane departed the paved surface and collided with an airport sign or marker located adjacent to the runway edge.
Post-accident weather observations recorded at 13:47 indicated that winds had shifted slightly to 310 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 25 knots. The pilot reported a total flight time of 58.8 hours at the time of the incident.
Findings
The primary factors contributing to this accident were the crosswind conditions and the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. The wind gusts caused the aircraft to balloon, leading to a loss of control that resulted in the runway excursion.