What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
(-23) As the pilot approached runway 25 for landing at the Cottonwood Municipal Airport he flared too high. The aircraft came down hard on the main wheels and bounced. The pilot applied full power and retracted the flaps to initiate a go-around but forgot to place the carburetor heat control to the cold position. The aircraft could not maintain flight and touched down hard again on the runway. The pilot then felt that the landing gear may have been damaged and so cut the power. The aircraft veered off the runway to the left, penetrating a barb-wire fence, and came to rest on its belly at approximately mid-field.
As the FAA filed it
(-23) AS THE PILOT APPROACHED RUNWAY 25 FOR LANDING AT THE COTTONWOOD MUNICIPAL AIRPORT HE FLARED TOO HIGH. THE AIRCRAFT CAME DOWN HARD ON THE MAIN WHEELS AND BOUNCED. THE PILOT APPLIED FULL POWER AND RETRACTED THE FLAPS TO INITIATE A GO-AROUND BUT FORGOT TO PLACE THE CARBURETOR HEAT CONTROL TO THE COLD POSITION. THE AIRCRAFT COULD NOT MAINTAIN FLIGHT AND TOUCHED DOWN HARD AGAIN ON THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT THEN FELT THAT THE LANDING GEAR MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED AND SO CUT THE POWER. THE AIRCRAFT VEERED OFF THE RUNWAY TO THE LEFT, PENETRATING A BARB-WIRE FENCE, AND CAME TO REST ON ITS BELLY AT APPROXIMATELY MID-FIELD.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.