Cessna 172 N20JA

Summary

On 9 August 2018 at about 02:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N20JA was involved in an accident near Greeley, Colorado, United States. 2 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

9 August 2018 at 02:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Greeley, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Greeley-Weld County Airport (GXY)

Coordinates

40.4286, -104.6319

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N20JA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1997

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Morgan → Greeley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18CA323

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s and safety pilot's conflicting control inputs during landing, which resulted in their failure to maintain a proper airspeed and resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the lack of communication between the pilot and safety pilot during the landing and go-around.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and a safety pilot were practicing instrument maneuvers, approaches, and landings at different airports during the flight. The airplane entered the traffic pattern for a practice landing at an airport. According to the safety pilot, the airplane was high and slow during the final approach. About 10 ft above ground level, the airplane "floated a little longer," and the pilot initiated a go-around by applying full throttle. During the attempted go-around, both occupants applied conflicting "correction" inputs to the control yokes; the pilot applied back pressure, and the safety pilot applied forward pressure. The airplane stalled, the left wing impacted terrain, and the airplane came to rest upright adjacent to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and both wings. Both pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot statements were conflicting regarding the accident details and sequence of events. Based on the statements and airplane damage, it is likely that the conflicting control inputs resulted in the pilots' failure to maintain a proper airspeed and that the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall during the attempted go-around. Neither pilot reported that verbal communication was established during the landing sequence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.