No fatalities

6 Jun 2017: CESSNA 172 S — Upper Limit Aviation — Tooele, UT

Tooele, UT, United States
SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data 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