What happened
During the landing sequence, the pilot entered the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, engaged the carburetor heat, and reduced the engine RPM to 1,300 while maintaining a flaps-up configuration. After completing the base and final legs of the pattern, the pilot found the aircraft unable to touch down on the runway surface and initiated a go-around.
Upon advancing the throttle to increase power, the engine failed to respond. The pilot attempted to rectify the situation by retarding the throttle and advancing it a second time, but the lack of engine response persisted. Consequently, the aircraft impacted trees located at the far end of the runway. There were no injuries reported in the accident.
The investigation
Investigators conducted an engine run with the engine still attached to the aircraft following the impact. During this test, no mechanical anomalies or malfunctions were observed in the engine's operation. However, the investigation identified that the aircraft lacked a required placard intended to warn pilots against rapid throttle movements. The missing placard should have instructed operators: 'DO NOT OPEN THROTTLE RAPIDLY (IDLE TO FULL THROTTLE, 2 SECONDS MINIMUM)' to prevent power interruptions and acceleration hang-ups caused by abrupt throttle inputs.