- Date
- April 19, 2006, 18:20 local (Apr 20, 2006, 01:20 UTC)
- Place
- Merced, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N757GFCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20060419005019A
- Case key
- 63556
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 failure of the student and certified flight instructor to maintain directional control and obtain/maintain an adequate airspeed during the attempted go-around. The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight was also causal.
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 airplane settled to the ground during an attempted go-around from a bounced landing. The certified flight instructor (CFI) said that the accident occurred following the student's bounced landing on runway 30 and attempted go-around. The student applied full engine power, retracted the wing flaps to the 10-degree setting, turned the carburetor heat off, and lost directional control of the airplane. The CFI reported that the airplane yawed violently left, at which point he took the flight controls from his student while the airplane was still in ground effect. The CFI decided to continue the go-around procedure, but he was not able to salvage the maneuver, and the airplane continued a slow descent to the ground. The CFI further reported that the airplane touched down on the ground adjacent to the runway. Thereafter, directional control was lost and the airplane was substantially damaged when the left wing impacted the ground. At the time of the occurrence, the wind speed was 3 knots. The CFI had been a flight instructor for about 6 months prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On April 19, 2006, about 1820 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N757GF, impacted the ground and was substantially damaged at the Merced Municipal Airport, Merced, California. The airplane was operated by KS Aviation, d.b.a. Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, Atwater, California. Neither the certified flight instructor (CFI) who held a commercial pilot certificate, nor the student pilot, was injured during the attempted go-around. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The local area instructional flight originated from Atwater about 1750.
The CFI reported to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that the accident occurred following the student's bounced landing on runway 30 and attempted go-around. The student applied full engine power, retracted the wing flaps to the 10-degree setting, turned the carburetor heat off, and lost directional control of the airplane. The CFI reported that the airplane yawed violently left, at which point he took the flight controls from his student while the airplane was still in the ground effect. The CFI decided to continue the go-around procedure, but he was not able to salvage the maneuver, and the airplane continued a slow descent to the ground. The CFI further reported that the airplane touched down on the ground adjacent to the runway. Thereafter, directional control was lost and the airplane was substantially damaged when the left wing impacted the ground.
The CFI reported that he had been an instructor for about 6 months. His student had about 30 hours of flight time.
The airport manager reported to the Safety Board investigator that, according to weather data stored in the airport's Automatic Surface Observing System (ASOS), at the time of the accident the wind was from 360 degrees at 3 knots, and the sky was clear. The CFI stated that the visibility was 10 miles. The Safety Board investigator also noted that 27 minutes earlier, at 1753, the ASOS recorded that that the wind was from 340 at 6 knots.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration's "Airport Facility Directory," runway 30 is 5,903 feet long and 150 feet wide.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N757GF
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15279723
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- KS Aviation, doing business as Sierra Academy of Aeronautics
- Registered owner
- Christiansen Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Departed
- MCE · Merced, CA
- Destination
- MER · Atwater, CA
- Airport
- MCE · Merced Municipal, runway 30, 5,903 × 150 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 24
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 609 total · 255 in this make and model · 187 in the last 90 days · 71 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 22
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 27 total · 27 in this make and model · 27 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.92 inHg
- Observed at
- MCE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.