Accident Overview
On July 30, 2022, at 0911 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N, registration N6587E, was involved in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight instructor and the student pilot were uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and right wings.
Sequence of Events
According to the flight instructor, the accident occurred during the fifth touch-and-go landing of the instructional flight. The student pilot's landing approach was unstable; when the airplane was about 20 feet above the runway, the right main landing gear wheel was approximately 5 feet from the runway edge. The instructor instructed the student to execute a go-around. The student pilot applied full engine power, but there was no major increase of thrust from the engine.
At that point, the flight instructor took control of the airplane. He reported that the airplane climbed very slowly out of ground effect, with the flaps set at 40°. The instructor then retracted the flaps one notch at a time, expecting that each incremental retraction would cause the airplane to sink. He retracted the flaps to 20° to reduce drag, but the airplane continued to sink and did not accelerate with full engine power applied. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the grass and ditch area on the left side of runway 29.
The instructor stated that he believed the engine was not producing full power during the go-around attempt.
Postaccident Examination
Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Additionally, a postaccident engine test indicated that the engine met the engine manufacturer's test specifications.