NYC95LA152

The student pilot was on her second approach during a solo flight. About 10 feet above the runway, the student applied partial power to slow the descent rate. The airplane drifted off the left side of the runway, and the student attempted to go around without increasing power. The student pulled on the control wheel and noticed the stall warning light flicker. The airplane stalled into the trees. The 70-hour student had been inactive from flying for 6 months before accruing 6.2 hours of dual flight instruction. The student was endorsed for solo flight just prior to the accident.

On July 11, 1995, at 1230 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA- 28-140, N15157, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees during a go-around at the Schuylkill County Airport, Minersville, Pennsylvania. The student pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the solo flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the student pilot (SP) stated that when she arrived at the airport, her flight instructor endorsed her log book for solo flight. The SP's first landing was uneventful. During the second approach, the SP descended to 10 feet above the runway. She further stated:

I felt that the plane was coming down too quickly for me to make a good landing and...I would hit the runway hard and balloon...I put in some power...to land again without going around. It then felt like I was too high and was beginning to drift off the runway. I found myself...to the left of the runway...and decided to go around...I pulled up on the yoke to get over the trees ...This is when I saw the stall light flickering ...My first instinct was to pull up more on the yoke. Unfortunately...I forgot to increase to full power...my nose had been so high, I could no longer see the trees ...I stalled the aircraft and fell out of the sky into the trees...

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, the student pilot (SP) had accumulated about 70 hours of flight experience. The SP did not fly between November 25, 1994, and June, 1995. The SP flew three flights in June, and one flight in July, 1995, with a certified flight instructor. At the completion of these 4 flights, totaling 6.2 hours, the SP's flight instructor released her for this solo flight.