Incident Overview
During a landing approach, a pilot experienced a loss of control after initiating a go-around. The aircraft subsequently descended to the ground off the left side of the runway.
Pilot Statement
The pilot stated that on short final, the aircraft began to drift off the left side of the runway. Control inputs to correct the drift had no effect. The pilot added power to initiate a go-around. According to the pilot, the airspeed suddenly dropped to 40 knots, and the aircraft entered a stall condition. The pilot reported that the aircraft seemed to "mush with no control until (it) contacted the ground."
ATC Observations
Air traffic control tower controllers reported that the aircraft was about 1,500 feet down the runway when it was seen to initiate a go-around. The aircraft then pitched nose up steeply and descended rapidly to the ground off the left side of the runway.
Wind Shear Observations
An FAA inspector was flying an aircraft in the pattern and noted that a slight wind shear existed, but it only produced a minor sink rate.
Pilot Experience
The pilot's flight time consisted of 2,500 hours in balloons and about 180 hours in airplanes. No airplane flight time was flown in the previous four years prior to March 1987, when the pilot purchased the aircraft and flew it approximately six hours before the accident.