NTSB Factual Report

According to the student pilot he was on left downwind for runway 27 at 2000 feet msl. He stated that he "turned base and final with nothing amiss. After I flared and before I touched down, I was caught off guard by a cross wind that turned the airplane to the left. I did not have enough airspeed to correct and struck brush and saplings on [the] left side of the runway."

Examination of the airplane by an FAA Inspector found that the airplane had struck trees and a ditch damaging the engine mounts and firewall, wrinkling the fuselage and separating the right wing tip. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate compensation for a crosswind during the landing flare, which resulted in a loss of control and an in-flight collision with objects. A factor associated with the accident was a crosswind.