No fatalities

Student Pilot Reports Ballooning and Stall During Go-Around Attempt

Tooele, UT, United States

On June 6, 2017, a CESSNA 172 S operated by Upper Limit Aviation was involved in an aviation accident near Tooele, UT. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The student pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during an attempted go-around, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 17 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

A solo student pilot lost control during a go-around after a ballooned landing, resulting in a stall and impact with the ground. The airplane sustained substantial wing and empennage damage.

Incident Overview

A solo student pilot reported that during the landing phase, the airplane unexpectedly ballooned upward. In response, the pilot added a small amount of throttle to help settle the aircraft. The pilot then sensed that the airplane was descending too rapidly and applied full power to execute a go-around. During this maneuver, the pilot reduced the flap setting to 20 degrees.

Stall and Impact

The pilot stated that the airplane subsequently began to stall. Believing that reducing the flaps further would recover the stall, the pilot moved the flaps to 0 degrees. However, this action caused the airplane to continue stalling. The aircraft then impacted the ground.

Damage Assessment

The impact resulted in substantial damage to the wings and the empennage (tail section) of the airplane.

Mechanical Condition

The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

Student/instructed pilotCapability exceededAirspeed — Not attained/maintained