- Date
- September 8, 1997, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2339WBeech A23A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970908026009A
- Case key
- 29898
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 student pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing, and failure to maintain adequate airspeed during an attempted go-around, which resulted in a stall and impact with the terrain (runway).
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 returning to the originating airport from his first solo cross-country flight. He reported that the stall warning horn came on before the airplane touched down, about 30 feet past the numbers, then the plane bounced into the air about 10 feet. The student said he realized that the airplane was at too slow an airspeed, and he attempted to execute a go-around by adding full power. The airplane climbed to approximately 20 feet in the air, then the stall warning horn sounded again. The airplane then banked to the left and impacted the ground. The student said he did not believe that there were any mechanical malfunctions that may have contributed to the accident.
Factual narrative
On September 8, 1997, at 1030 hours mountain standard time, a Beech A23A, N2339W, bounced into the air and subsequently drug the left wing on the runway after an unsuccessful go-around attempt at La Cholla Airpark, Tucson, Arizona. The aircraft was destroyed during the impact sequence, and the student pilot was not injured. The flight originated at La Cholla Airpark at an undetermined time. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
The flight was the first solo cross-country flight for the student pilot. The intended route of flight was La Cholla, Bisbee, Wilcox, and then back to La Cholla. The student pilot was interviewed by an FAA Operations Inspector on September 10, 1997. The inspector stated that the pilot reported that the stall warning horn came on before he touched down on the runway. The student pilot said he touched down about 30 feet past the "numbers" on the runway. After landing, the airplane bounced into the air about 10 feet. The student pilot said he realized that the aircraft was too slow and added full power to execute a go-around. He estimated that he was approximately 10 to 20 feet in the air when the stall warning horn went off again. The aircraft banked to the left and descended with the left wing hitting the ground first. The airplane went off the left side of runway 19. The student pilot said he did not believe that there were any mechanical malfunctions that may have contributed to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2339W
- Reported as
- Beech A23A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- M938
- Airframe hours
- 1,704
- Engine
- Continental IO-346, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Allen Peterson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 16, 1997 · 95 hours before
- Departed
- P33 · Wilcox, AZ
- Destination
- 40E
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- 40E · La Cholla Airpark, runway 19, 4,600 × 36 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
- 20
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 57 total · 54 in this make and model · 21 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TUS, 22 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.