Incident Overview
A student pilot, while practicing approaches and go-arounds, mistakenly conducted approaches to runway 7 instead of the intended runway 25. Runway 25 is a turf runway measuring 3,058 feet in length and 120 feet in width. The student believed he was operating in accordance with the traffic pattern for runway 25, but his approaches were actually to the opposite runway, against the flow of traffic.
Sequence of Events
During the third approach to runway 7, while on short final, the student pilot observed another aircraft on final approach for runway 25. Perceiving a collision risk, he banked the airplane to the left and initiated a climb. In the course of this maneuver, he failed to increase engine throttle and only partially retracted the flaps. Subsequently, the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall, descended vertically, and struck a grassy area to the left of the runway.
Aircraft Performance Considerations
Review of the airplane information manual indicated that a go-around procedure requires full engine power and a flap setting of 20 degrees. The student's actions during the evasive maneuver did not comply with these prescribed settings.