No fatalities

16 Jul 2019: Cessna 172 L — West Air Aviation — Grand Canyon, AZ

Grand Canyon, AZ, United States

On 16 Jul 2019, a Cessna 172 L operated by West Air Aviation was involved in an aviation accident near Grand Canyon, AZ. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain lateral control during landing in gusting wind conditions, which resulted in the left wing striking the ground. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 14 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During a crosswind landing, the pilot's left-wing struck the runway after the airplane rolled left. The airplane then righted itself and landed. Substantial damage to the left wing was reported.

Accident Details

A pilot reported that during an approach to land, he corrected for a left crosswind. After crossing the threshold, he reduced power, and as the airplane was about to touch down, it rolled to the left. The left wing subsequently struck the runway. The airplane immediately righted itself, and the pilot completed the landing. The pilot noted that the runway strike caused a minor misalignment with the airplane.

Aircraft Damage

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing.

Pilot Report

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Weather Conditions

The airport's automated weather observation station reported that about 36 minutes before the accident, the wind was from 210° at 11 knots, gusting to 19 knots. About 24 minutes after the accident, the wind was from 210° at 17 knots, gusting to 25 knots, with a peak wind reported 3 minutes after the accident from 220° at 27 knots. The pilot landed the airplane on runway 21.

Contributing factors

Causes

Lateral/bank control — Not attained/maintainedPilot

Other contributing factors

Effect on operation