NTSB Factual Report

On May 29, 2003, at 1520 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N140PF, registered to KD Enterprises Incorporated and operated Peachtree Flight Center collided with the runway while conducting a low pass at Tara-Field, Hampton, Georgia. The instructional flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was substantially damaged and the commercial pilot/ certified flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot reported minor injuries. The flight departed Falcon Field, Peachtree City, Georgia, on May 29, 2003, at 1455.

According to the CFI, during a flight demonstration on crosswind landing drift control, a low pass was conducted 50 feet over runway 24. During the low pass the airplane encountered a strong gust of wind, and the right wing tip struck the runway. The airplane cartwheeled and came to rest on the runway. No mechanical or flight control malfunctions were reported by the pilots prior to the accident. At 1853, the nearest weather reporting facility recordered winds as 300 degrees at 19 knots with gust of 25 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause

The certified flight instructor's failure to maintain clearance from the runway during a low pass. A factor was gusty wind conditions.