Approach and Go-Around
The commercial pilot was conducting a visual flight rules scheduled passenger flight with five passengers. During the return leg to the company’s base airport, the pilot requested clearance to a short gravel runway of 1,858 ft that terminated at parallel cross-runways and had inbound airplanes. The wind was reported as variable at 3 knots, and the outside air temperature was 88°F, which was 25° warmer than usual.
The pilot stated that he conducted a steeper than normal approach and performed a normal 30° flap landing flare; however, the airplane floated halfway down the runway. He initiated a go-around by advancing the throttle to takeoff power and retracting the flaps to 20° as the main landing gear briefly touched down.
Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data indicated that the airplane arrived 0.1 mile from the runway threshold at 149 ft above ground level (agl) and 110 knots of ground speed, which was 32 knots faster than the short field landing approach speed listed in the pilot operating handbook.
Witness Observations
A witness in the air traffic control tower (the ground controller) stated that the airplane “bled off a lot of airspeed” during the landing attempt and climbed out in a very flat profile. The tower local controller stated that after liftoff, the airplane’s right wing dropped and the airplane appeared to be turning right into conflicting landing traffic, so he twice instructed the airplane to “left turn out immediately.”
Stall and Impact
The pilot stated that he attempted to comply with the tower controller’s instruction, but when he applied left aileron, the airplane appeared to stall, rolled rapidly right, and descended in a right-wing-low attitude. It subsequently impacted the surface between runways. A postimpact fire ensued, and the pilot helped the passengers egress. The airplane was destroyed by postimpact fire.
Probable Cause
The probable cause was the pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering during an attempted go-around, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall at low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to perform an approach to a short runway at an excessive airspeed and his late decision to perform a go-around, which resulted in a slow climb at a reduced safe margin above stall airspeed.