LAX01LA259

Upon reaching the destination airport on a dark, nighttime cross-country flight, the pilot's approach was too high and fast, so he performed a go-around. On his second approach, the pilot was also too high, but the airplane touched down on the 4,200-foot-long runway. Concerned about being able to stop before reaching the runway's departure end, the pilot added full engine power and tried to go around. The engine power increased normally. During the initial climb out, the pilot experienced difficulty controlling the airplane. Contrary to Cessna's published recommended balked landing procedure, the pilot failed to retract the wing flaps from their 40-degrees setting. The airspeed was slow, the airplane stalled, and it impacted trees and terrain. About 1.5 months earlier, the pilot was issued a private pilot certificate. The accident occurred during the pilot's first, solo, night cross-country flight, and his total pilot-in-command night experience was 1.5 hours.

On June 24, 2001, about 2246 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N8962V, impacted terrain during the initial climb following an aborted landing on runway 23 at the Placerville (uncontrolled) Airport, Placerville, California. The sole occupant of the airplane, a private pilot, sustained minor injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was operated by Sun Air Aviation, LLC, Camarillo, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the dark nighttime flight. No flight plan was filed. The business flight was performed under 14 CFR Part 91, and it originated from Camarillo about 1945.

The pilot reported to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that he recently obtained his private pilot certificate (May 6, 2001). The accident flight was the pilot's first nighttime, solo, cross-country experience since certification. The pilot further stated that during his first approach to runway 23 the airplane appeared too high, and its airspeed was too fast, so he made a go-around. On his second approach he also believed that he was too high. However, the airplane touched down long on the runway, which was 4,200 feet long. The pilot indicated that he was concerned about not being able to stop by the departure end of the runway, so he applied engine power to go around. The engine power increased normally. (The pilot did not indicate if he changed the position of the wing flaps.) During the initial climb out, the pilot experienced difficulty controlling the airplane. The airspeed was slow, the airplane stalled, and it impacted trees and terrain about 1/2-mile west of the airport.

The pilot also reported that his total night flying experience was 8.1 hours, and his total pilot-in-command night experience was 1.5 hours.

The Federal Aviation Administration coordinator and a representative from the airplane's operator responded to the accident site and made observations regarding the position of the cockpit flap control handle and the wing flaps. They reported that the flaps appeared fully extended, and their position appeared to correspond with the cockpit flap control handle's position, which was set to the 40-degree down indicator mark.

The Cessna Aircraft Company published information regarding procedures to be followed when involved in a go-around. The Cessna 172 Owner's Manual states, in pertinent part, the following: "In a balked landing (go-around) climb, reduce the wing flap setting to 20 degrees immediately after full power is applied. If the flaps were extended to 40 degrees, the reduction to 20 degrees may be approximated by placing the flap switch in the UP position for two seconds and then returning the switch to neutral."