Incident Overview
A solo student pilot was conducting a landing in gusty crosswind conditions when the airplane bounced multiple times on touchdown. The pilot reported that after the bounces, the airplane drifted off the runway to the right and impacted a runway distance remaining sign with the right elevator, causing substantial damage to the elevator.
Weather Conditions
An automated weather observing station at the accident airport reported wind at 120 degrees true at 16 knots, gusting to 21 knots, around the time of the accident. This resulted in a 14-knot crosswind component for the landing on runway 17.
Aircraft and Operational Context
The student pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. According to the flight school's policies and procedures, all flights except those by a stage 2 pilot must use the maximum demonstrated crosswind listed in the aircraft's Pilot's Operating Handbook or Airplane Flying Manual as the maximum allowable crosswind takeoff limit. The student pilot was not a stage 2 pilot and had no additional crosswind limitations in his logbook endorsements. The Cessna 172R maximum demonstrated crosswind was listed as 15 knots. The flight instructor stated that the student pilot had demonstrated satisfactory performance in previous instructional flights under similar wind conditions.