- Date
- May 8, 2010, 10:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N918JRPiper PA-28-235
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR go-around: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100508033669A
- Case key
- 75961
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 failure to maintain aircraft control during a go-around, resulting in a stall/mush.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The student pilot was on a local training flight. After flying about 1 hour in the practice area, she returned to the airport to perform touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The reported winds at the time of the accident were 200 at 4 knots. During the approach to runway 32, she felt that a crosswind blew the airplane to the left. Landing in this position would have resulted in excessive stress to the left main landing gear. The student pilot initiated a go-around, applying full power and turning off carburetor heat. She indicated that at this point, an updraft pushed the airplane nose up and the airplane stalled. The student pilot attempted to recover from the stall; however, the "controls were sloppy and the airplane was not responding." The airplane came to rest inverted.
Factual narrative
The student pilot was on a local training flight. After flying about 1 hour in the practice area, she returned to the airport to perform touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The reported winds at the time of the accident were 200 at 4 knots. During the approach to runway 32, she felt that a crosswind blew the airplane to the left. Landing in this position would have resulted in excessive stress to the left main landing gear. The student pilot initiated a go-around, applying full power and turning off carburetor heat. She indicated that at this point, an updraft pushed the airplane nose up and the airplane stalled. The student pilot attempted to recover from the stall; however, the "controls were sloppy and the airplane was not responding." The airplane came to rest inverted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N918JR
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-10791
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540 B4B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ricki-Lee Halling
- Registered owner
- Jon Halling
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- HII · Lake Havasu, AZ
- Destination
- HII · Lake Havasu, AZ
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- HII · Lake Havasu City, runway 32, 8,000 × 100 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 42 total · 42 in this make and model · 16 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.85 inHg
- Observed at
- EED, 17 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 6, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 640 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.