Accident Overview
A pilot and passenger experienced minor injuries when their airplane was substantially damaged after impacting trees and terrain during a go-around.
Pilot Report
The pilot stated that he entered the traffic pattern at the intended destination. On final approach, he applied full flaps and observed that the approach appeared "OK." However, as the airplane crossed the runway threshold, he thought the airspeed was "a bit fast" and elected to execute a go-around. He applied full throttle and raised the flaps one notch. The pilot reported, "The stick felt jammed. I could not get the stick forward enough to lower the nose to accelerate." The airplane remained in a nose-high climb attitude. The pilot noted that the airspeed decayed until he felt a pre-stall buffet. He stated, "I felt trees to my right . . . would be better than the highway to land on as we were stalling and were going to drop. We mushed into the trees and came down to [the] ground."
Pre-Flight and Post-Accident Inspection
The pilot reported that before the flight, he had placed a digital camera in the front seat back pocket. The before takeoff flight control check was normal, and the initial takeoff on the accident flight was without incident. A post-accident inspection revealed no anomalies with the flight control system. However, the inspection also revealed that forward travel of the rear seat control stick was restricted when it came in contact with an object the size of the digital camera placed in the seat back pocket.