Cessna 172 N54971

Summary

On 25 October 2008 at about 21:10 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N54971, operated by Lafayette Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Monticello, Indiana, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 October 2008 at 21:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Monticello, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

White County Airporr (MCX)

Coordinates

40.7086, -86.7667

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N54971

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Lafayette Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Lafayette → Monticello

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA041

Nobody was injured.

The pilot stalled the airplane during a go-around. Contributing to the accident included the pilot's improper in-flight decision, the tailwind landing, and the pilot's failure to put the carburetor Heat to "OFF" during the go-around.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and three passengers in a Cessna 172P, which had 40 gallons of fuel on board, were on final approach to runway 36 after a 30 minute flight. The pilot reported that when the airplane was about 50 feet above ground level (agl), he executed a go-around because it felt like the winds were pushing the airplane left of the runway. He pushed in the throttle, raised the flaps 1 notch, and gradually raised the airplane's pitch attitude. (He did not push in the Carburetor Heat to the OFF position.) He reported that the airplane stalled and subsequently nosed over when the propeller impacted the terrain. The airport manager observed the airplane approaching from the south and landing on runway 36 even though the winds were out of the south. He reported that the pilot attempted to go-around when the airplane was about 15 feet agl, but the airplane stalled as it attempted to climb at low airspeed with a tailwind component. The airport manager noted that the winds were 220 degrees at 12 knots. A windsock and wind "T" were installed at the airport.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.