Event Summary
A student pilot, who had completed multiple solo cross-country flights during daylight hours, was preparing to land at his home airport. On his first landing attempt, the pilot executed a go-around because he was dissatisfied with his ground track and believed an airplane following him in the traffic pattern was too close.
Second Approach and Landing
During his second approach, the student turned onto the base leg and then onto final approach. He configured the airplane with full flaps, reduced speed to approximately 65 knots, and used a crab technique to compensate for the wind. On short final, the pilot applied left rudder to align the airplane with runway 14.
When the pilot flared, the airplane floated momentarily before touching down on the centerline approximately 500 feet from the approach end of the runway. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane drifted to the left of the centerline and subsequently exited the runway.
Weather Conditions
The wind at the airport was recorded from 180 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 18 knots.