Primary finding
Probable cause
the student pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions during an attempted go-around, which resulted in an on-ground loss of control and subsequent collision with trees and a ditch. The crosswind, trees, and ditch were related factors.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot stated he encountered some turbulence about 5 feet above the runway which caused the airplane to yaw to the left just before touchdown. The airplane touched down hard on the right main landing gear and bounced. The pilot decided to abort the landing and go around. He applied full throttle, but the engine did not respond immediately. The carburetor heat was not turned off. During the go-around, the pilot raised the flaps to 10-degrees, and the airplane settled to the ground in a crab. Subsdequently, it yawed to the left, the left wing tip collided with trees, and the airplane went off the left side of the runway into a ditch. Review of weather information for the time of the accident revealed no record of turbulence, downdrafts, gusts, or windshear.
Source record
Factual narrative
On July 2, 1997, at about 0835 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150F, N8083S, registered to West Florida Air Inc., operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, experienced an on-ground loss of directional control on landing rollout and crashed at the Clearwater Air Park, Clearwater, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The student pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated about 15 minutes before the accident. The student pilot stated he encountered some turbulence about 5 feet above the runway which caused the airplane to yaw to the left just before touchdown. The airplane touched down hard on the right main landing gear, and bounced. He decided to abort the landing and do a go-around. He applied full throttle, but the engine did not respond right away. The carburetor heat was not turned off. He raised the flaps to 10-degrees, the airplane airplane settled to the ground in a crab, yawed to the left, the left wing tip collided with trees, and the airplane went off the left side of the runway into a ditch. Review of weather information Obtained for Clearwater, Florida, for the time period of the accident revealed no recorded record of turbulence, downdrafts, gusts, or windshear. -