Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 172 near Ghent, NY — 2011-06-08

Final reportERA11CA331
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Date
2011-06-08
Location
Ghent, NY, USA
Airport
NY1
Aircraft
CESSNA 172
Registration
N8895B
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's delayed decision to abort the landing and execute a go-around.

NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, several minutes after takeoff the weather began to deteriorate and the sky turned black with convective activity reported in the area. He decided to divert to a nearby airport which had a 4,000-foot long by 75-foot wide turf runway. As the pilot approached the runway he could not determine where the approach end was located. The airplane approached the runway high and fast. The pilot did not think he would be able to stop the airplane before reaching the end of the runway, so he aborted the landing. One witness reported that the airplane aborted the landing with less than 1/4 of the runway's total length remaining. During the attempted climb out, the pilot thought that the engine felt less powerful but could not recall any specific abnormal indications. Without sufficient airspeed to climb above approaching trees, the pilot stalled the airplane into a pond, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and empennage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to land at a different airport with better conditions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 8 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents8

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