NTSB Factual Report

On September 21, 2002, at 1330 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N737TG, was substantially damaged during a landing at Lake Anna Airport (7W4), Bumpass, Virginia. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The flight originated at Tappahannock Municipal Airport (W79), Tappahannock, Virginia, at 1250, and was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to the pilot, the airplane was based at Shannon Airport (EZF), Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the purpose of the flight was to practice touch and go landings at some of the area airports, then return to Shannon.

The pilot flew to Tappahannock Airport, performed a touch and go landing, then determined that he had time for one more stop. He reviewed his sectional aeronautical chart, and decided to fly to Lake Anna Airport.

Upon arrival, the pilot entered a left-hand traffic pattern for landing on runway 26. As he turned the airplane onto the final approach course, he lowered the flaps to the full-down position, and a wind gust pushed the airplane off course to the left. The pilot realigned the airplane with the runway for the remainder of the approach. During the landing flare, a wind gust again pushed him off course to the left. According to the pilot:

"As I approached the runway, I was maintaining approximately 65 knots airspeed, I reached the flare, and just below the flare and just before touchdown, a crosswind pushed me well left of the [runway] centerline."

The pilot further stated that the runway was "extremely" narrow, and that the left landing gear touched down off the landing surface, and caught on a "ridge". The ridge descended into a ditch, and despite his correction with right rudder and brake, the airplane continued to the left. The left wing struck a tree, the airplane spun around, then descended to the bottom of the ditch.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. He reported 167 hours of flight experience, all of which was in the Cessna 172. He reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

The runway at the Lake Anna Airport was 2,560 feet long and 25 feet wide. The pilot reported that he had never been to the airport, and had never landed on a runway that narrow.

The weather recorded at 1322, at Louisa County Airport (LKU), Louisa, Virginia, about 10 nautical miles to the northwest, included winds from 180 degrees at 6 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing. A factor was the narrow runway width.