THE STUDENT PILOT GOT OFF COURSE ON THE FIRST LEG OF HIS SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT. HE LANDED AT AN AIRPORT FOR FUEL AND DIRECTIONS, BUT THE AIRPORT WAS DESERTED. WHEN HE DEPARTED FOR A NEARBY AIRPORT, HE COULD NOT FIND THAT AIRPORT. AFTER THE STUDENT PILOT CALLED THEM ON UNICOM, THEY ATTEMPTED TO LOCATE HIS POSITION BY VISUAL REFERENCES AND ALSO SENT AN AIRPLANE TO ASSIST. WHEN THE STUDENT PILOT STARTED HAVING COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS, HE REALIZED HE WAS GOING AWAY FROM THE AIRPORT AND MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING IN A FIELD. HE TOUCHED DOWN LONG, DECIDED AGAINST A GO-AROUND AND WENT THROUGH TWO FENCES AND HIT A TREE.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
Contributing Factors
TERRAIN CONDITION..NONE SUITABLETERRAIN CONDITION..HIGH OBSTRUCTION(S)TERRAIN CONDITION..ROUGH/UNEVENPRECAUTIONARY LANDING..PERFORMED..PILOT IN COMMANDOBJECT..FENCE
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