Aircraft Stalls During Touch-and-Go, Impacts Ground in Vertical Dive (N7189T)

Incident Overview

A pilot was flying a closed traffic pattern and performed a touch-and-go landing. A witness saw the aircraft bounce on the runway before initiating a go-around. The surviving passenger reported that the stall warning horn was sounding "a long time." At the midpoint of the downwind leg, the aircraft stalled and subsequently impacted the ground in a vertical dive.

Post-Accident Examination

A post-accident teardown of the engine revealed that it was capable of normal operation. No malfunctions of the aircraft were found. The flaps were found set at 20 degrees down position. The carburetor heat control was destroyed in the crash, so its setting could not be determined.

Findings

The investigation found no evidence of mechanical failure or engine malfunction. The precise cause of the stall could not be established due to the destruction of the carburetor heat control and lack of other contributing factors.