Accident Details
A flight school airplane veered off the runway during landing rollout at an airport. According to the flight school's operations manager, the pilot was previously checked out in the accident model of airplane and was authorized to rent it. On the day of the accident, the pilot and a passenger departed for a planned local area flight to a neighboring airport.
Air traffic control tower personnel reported that the pilot's landing approach to Runway 27L was uneventful. During the landing rollout, the airplane veered to the left of the runway. The pilot applied rudder pressure to correct the airplane's course, and the airplane then veered to the right. The airplane departed the runway and contacted a 6-foot drainage ditch.
Aircraft Damage
The conventional landing gear sheared off, a wing lift strut bent, a wing impacted the ground, and structural tube frames and longerons in the airplane's belly were deformed upward. The pilot did not report experiencing any mechanical malfunction with the airplane during the accident flight.
Pilot Statement
The pilot stated that during the landing he encountered a wind gust, which blew the airplane to the side of the runway. In taking corrective action to realign the airplane, he "reacted...too much."
Weather Information
At 1539, the airport reported its surface wind was from 240 degrees at 10 knots, with 15-knot gusts.