- Date
- August 15, 2001, 14:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Peyton, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N733BWCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 6, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20010815025469A
- Case key
- 53026
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper go-around procedure and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor was the pilot's lack of total experience.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The student pilot was flying in the airport traffic pattern, and was performing a landing to runway 33. He said that the aircraft was blown to the right side of the runway while still airborne. He said he applied power and raised the flaps to begin a go-around. The pilot stated that he intended on raising the flaps in increments, but he brought them up all at once. When he did, he experienced a nose down attitude and impacted on the right side of Runway 33. A flight instructor witness said that he observed the airplane in a nose high attitude just before it fell to the ground. The airplane's POH states that a balked landing is performed with the flaps being raised in increments. The student pilot had accumulated approximately 24 hours of flight experience when the accident occurred.
Factual narrative
On August 15, 2001, at approximately 1445 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N733BW, was substantially damaged following impact with terrain during an attempted go-around at Meadow Lake Airport, Peyton, Colorado. The student pilot, the sole occupant aboard the airplane, was seriously injured. American Aviation, Inc., of Peyton, Colorado, was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local solo instructional flight that originated approximately 15 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
A Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector interviewed the pilot. The pilot said that he was flying his third solo flight, and was practicing landings on runway 33. He said that the left crosswind (estimated at 300 degrees at 8 to 9 knots) blew him off to the right side of the runway while he was still airborne. He said that he applied power for a go-around, and raised the flaps. The pilot said that his intention was to gradually bring the flaps up, but he inadvertently raised them all at once. He said that he immediately experienced a nose down attitude and crashed. A flight instructor witness said that he observed the airplane in a nose high attitude just before it fell to the ground.
The airplane's Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) states that a balked landing is performed in the following manner:
1. Throttle--- Full open,
2. Carburetor Heat--- Cold,
3. Wing Flaps--- 20 degrees (immediately),
4. Climb Speed--- 55 KIAS,
5. Wing Flaps--- 10 degrees (until obstacles are cleared).
Retract (after reaching a safe altitude and 60 KIAS).
The student pilot had accumulated approximately 24 hours of flight experience when the accident occurred. At the time of the accident, the student was not wearing his shoulder harness. The impact bent the left wing, wrinkled the fuselage, and broke the engine mount.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N733BW
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17268177
- Airframe hours
- 9,369.4
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- American Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 20, 2001 · 77.8 hours before
- Departed
- 00V · Peyton, CO
- Airport
- 00V · Meadow Lake, runway 33, 6,000 × 60 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 23
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 24 total · 24 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 23 knots, gusting 28
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.27 inHg
- Observed at
- COS, 12 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.