# Accident 19970126002329A: Piper PA38112, Brownsville, TX, January 26, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 26, 1997, 12:10 local time
- Place: Brownsville, TX
- Airport: Brownsville-South Padre International
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 25.9202° N, 97.4797° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.9202&lon=-97.4797&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2422N, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2422N-2015-05-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-38-112 (registry code 7103812, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-38-112) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA38112
- Reported engine: LYC O235L2C
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 41 total, 24 in this make and model, 24 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA089) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970126002329A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

UNABLE STOP HIGH SINK ON FINAL. LOST CONTROL TRYING TO AROUND. DRAGGED A WING AND CARTWHEELED. (-23) ON LANDING STUDENT PILOT ATTEMPTED A FULL-FLAP GO-AROUND. THE AIRCRAFT STALLED WHEN THE FLAPS WERE RETRACTED HALF WAY AND CRASHED ON THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY.                                                               (.4) THE STUDENT PILOT, AWARE OF THE DISPLACED (2,600 FEET) THRESHOLD, WAS CLEARED FOR LANDING ON RUNWAY 17. DURING THE FINAL APPROACH WITH FULL FLAPS (37 DEGREES), THE AIRPLANE STARTED 'DROPPING' FROM APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET AGL AND THE PILOT ADDED 1/2 THROTTLE; HOWEVER, THE ADDED POWER 'DID NOT STOP THE DROP.' UPON MAKING A GO-AROUND DECISION, THE PILOT ADDED FULL POWER AND RETRACTED THE FLAPS TO 21 DEGREES. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE LEFT WING OF THE AIRPLANE HIT THE DIRT AND THE AIRPLANE SPUN AROUND 150 DEGREES BEFORE COMING TO REST IN THE GRASS AT THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THAT THE STUDENT HAD RECEIVED INSTRUCTION ON ALL THE SOLO REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING EMERGENCY PROCEDURES AND GO-AROUND PROCEDURES. THE STUDENT STATED THAT HE HAD NOT DONE A GO-AROUND WITH AN INSTRUCTOR; HOWEVER, DURING A PREVIOUS SOL                                                       O FLIGHT, HE HAD MADE A GO-AROUND FROM 400 FEET AGL DURING AN APPROACH FOR RUNWAY 31 AND THIS WAS HIS FIRST ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND FROM A LOW ALTITUDE. THE PILOT/OPERATOR REPORT, STATED THAT 'WHILE ATTEMPTING A GO-AROUND THE AIRCRAFT STALLED [WITH] THE LEFT WING IMPACTING THE GROUND.' WINDS VARIED FROM 160 DEGREES TO 170 DEGREES AT 13 KNOTS WITH GUST TO 22 KNOTS.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW97LA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA089), Jan 26, 1997: Piper PA-38-112 (N2422N), Brownsville, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's delayed go-around and subsequent inadvertent stall. A factor was the gusty winds.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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