Report
NTSB Identification: LAX06CA281The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please contact Records Management DivisionAccident occurred Thursday, August 31, 2006 in Spanish Springs, NVProbable Cause Approval Date: 01/31/2007Aircraft: Cessna 172P, registration: N97306Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The airplane collided with a house during a go-around. The pilot was unfamiliar with the airport. Upon arrival, he flew around the airport at 5,600 feet mean sea level (msl); the airport elevation was 4,600 feet. UNICOM informed him that runway 16 was the preferred runway. He noted that the airport had a hill, which had silos on it, on the approach end of the runway. He maintained what he felt was a safe vertical separation from the silos, and came in a bit high as he set up for the landing. During his flare, he became aware that the runway sloped uphill. He was below the crest, and could not see how long the runway continued past it. He decided to go around, rather than rolling to the top and finding that the runway ended. Because of the runway slope, he felt that he could not level off and pickup speed. He pulled the nose up, and upon climbing above the crest, noticed houses at the end of the runway. He applied full power, and leaned the mixture for pattern altitude. The airplane started to climb, and he retracted the flaps up 1/2 notch; however, the airplane seemed to lose some lift. The terrain ahead sloped downhill to his left, so he banked slightly to the left. He maintained 60 knots, and noted that the stall warning horn did not sound. The airplane did not gain enough airspeed or altitude, and collided with the house. The Pilot Information Manual for the Model 172P states that during a go-around the flaps should be retracted to 20 degrees and the climb conducted at a speed of 55 knots. The density altitude was calculated to be 6,700 feet. The Airport/Facility Directory, Southwest U. S., indicated that that there was no line of sight between the ends of the runway. It stated that runway 16 had a 2.5 percent up gradient in the first 500 feet. The closest aviation weather reporting facility 14 nautical miles away was reporting winds from 060 degrees at 5 knots.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:the pilot's failure to initiate a timely go-around and to attain an adequate climb rate. Factors in the accident were the high density altitude and the likely quartering tail wind that may have affected the aircraft's climb gradient.
More:
Sec. 91.103 of the Federal Aviation Regulations discusses preflight action. It states that each pilot-in-command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. This information must include, for any flight, runway lengths at airports of intended use. Paragraph (b)(1) specifies that the pilot must determine the takeoff and landing distance information for civil aircraft with an approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual containing takeoff and landing distance data. Paragraph (b)(2) specifies takeoff and landing information for civil aircraft other than those specified in paragraph (b)(1). The pilot may use other reliable information appropriate to the aircraft, relating to aircraft performance under expected values of airport elevation and runway slope, aircraft gross weight, and wind and temperature.
