Pilot Debrief

Cessna 172 near Greeley, CO — 2018-08-09

Final reportCEN18CA323
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Date
2018-08-09
Location
Greeley, CO, USA
Airport
GXY
Aircraft
Cessna 172
Registration
N20JA
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot’s and safety pilot's conflicting control inputs during landing, which resulted in their failure to maintain a proper airspeed and resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the lack of communication between the pilot and safety pilot during the landing and go-around.

NTSB narrative

The pilot and a safety pilot were practicing instrument maneuvers, approaches, and landings at different airports during the flight. The airplane entered the traffic pattern for a practice landing at an airport. According to the safety pilot, the airplane was high and slow during the final approach. About 10 ft above ground level, the airplane "floated a little longer," and the pilot initiated a go-around by applying full throttle. During the attempted go-around, both occupants applied conflicting "correction" inputs to the control yokes; the pilot applied back pressure, and the safety pilot applied forward pressure. The airplane stalled, the left wing impacted terrain, and the airplane came to rest upright adjacent to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and both wings. Both pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot statements were conflicting regarding the accident details and sequence of events. Based on the statements and airplane damage, it is likely that the conflicting control inputs resulted in the pilots' failure to maintain a proper airspeed and that the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall during the attempted go-around. Neither pilot reported that verbal communication was established during the landing sequence.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Establish clear communication before initiating go-around.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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