Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's improper compensation for the wind conditions, his improper recovery from a bounced landing, and the inadvertent stall. Factors were the wind conditions and the trees that bounded the runway.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot was landing at a coastal airport with strong winds and wind gusts. He commented that he trained at a coastal airport with persistent crosswinds, but did not account for the trees that bounded this runway. As the airplane descended below the tops of the trees, and the pilot recognized that the runway was made, he reduced the power to idle. The airplane developed a rapid sink rate, landed and bounced. A go-around was initiated followed by a loss of directional control and subsequent stall. The airplane then collided with the trees.
Source record
Factual narrative
On June 25, 1994, about 1430 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N54920, was substantially damaged following a collision with terrain during a go-around attempt at the First Flight Airport in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The private pilot and his passenger both received serious injuries in the accident. The aircraft was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and a visual flight rules flight plan was in effect at the time of the accident. The flight departed North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina about 1230. According to witnesses, the aircraft landed on runway 20. The aircraft veered sharply to the left and then to the right. The aircraft attempted a go-around, stalled, and impacted the terrain on the right side of the runway. The pilot and his wife, also a private pilot, stated that as the airplane descended below the tops of the trees that bound the runway edge, the airplane developed a rapid sink rate. Winds were from 220 degrees at 20 knots with gusts to 25 and 35 knots. The airplane bounced, and a go-around was initiated. Subsequently, the pilot lost control of the airplane and it mushed into the trees in a left wing low attitude. The pilot commented that both he and his wife learned to fly at a coastal airport with persistent crosswinds. However, he said, he failed to account for the trees bounding the runway. -