No fatalities

29 Jul 2016: CESSNA 177 B — Wickenburg, AZ

Wickenburg, AZ, United States

On 29 Jul 2016, a CESSNA 177 B was involved in an aviation accident near Wickenburg, AZ. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's incorrect balked landing procedure, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent, hard landing, a runway excursion, and nose gear collapse. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot reported that after a hard landing, the airplane porpoised. During a go-around, flaps were retracted too soon, causing the airplane to settle back onto the runway, veer off, and collapse the nose gear.

Event Summary

A pilot reported an accident involving a hard landing and subsequent loss of control during an aborted landing. According to the pilot, the airplane began to porpoise after a hard landing, prompting a decision to abort the landing. During the go-around, the pilot added power and the airplane started to climb. However, the pilot retracted the flaps too soon and too quickly, causing the airplane to settle back onto the runway. The airplane then landed hard a second time, veered off the runway to the right, and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane came to a stop in a nose-down attitude.

Damage

Substantial damage was sustained to the right aileron, fuselage, and empennage. The source does not specify any other damage.

Pilot Actions

The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot acknowledged that the flap retraction was performed prematurely and too rapidly, leading to the loss of lift and the subsequent hard landing and veer-off.

Procedures for a Balked Landing

The source references the published procedures for a balked landing as provided by Cessna. These procedures include:

1. Power – Full throttle and 2700 RPM 2. Carburetor Heat – Cold 3. Wing Flaps – Retract to 20 degrees 4. Upon reaching an airspeed of approximately 75 MPH, retract flaps slowly

Safety Recommendation

The pilot reported a safety recommendation to wait longer for the aircraft to further stabilize, gain speed, and begin climbing before retracting flaps. This recommendation is based on the pilot's experience during the accident sequence.

Contributing factors

PilotDirectional control — Not attained/maintained