NTSB Factual Report

On June 29, 2001, at 1045 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 177, N3381T, experienced a loss of directional control while landing at Baldwin County Municipal Airport in Milledgeville, Georgia. The instructional flight was conducted by the student pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot received minor injuries. The flight departed Milledgeville, Georgia, at 1015.

According to the student pilot, while making a touch and go landing, his indicated airspeed over the threshold was 80 knots. He flared early and the airplane began to porpoise. He then stated he began to add power to recover from the porpoise condition. The airplane touched down on the left side of the runway center line. The airplane then departed the left side of the runway and rolled down an incline, and collided with a shed and trees. The airframe sustained structural damage to the engine compartment and the empennage section of the airplane.

The student pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. Examination of the airplane failed to disclose any mechanical malfunction or component failure. According to the pilot, his attention was diverted and he ran off the runway and failed to apply his brakes.

NTSB Probable Cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control and the subsequent collision with an object during an attempted landing. A factor was porpoise induced oscillation.