Aircraft: Cessna 177. Injuries: None. Location: West Milford, N.J. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, the airplane bounced during the landing. He added power in an attempt to recover, then decided to perform a go-around.
He performed the go-around checklist, but inadvertently retracted the flaps to the zero degree, or “UP” position, instead of the required 20° flap position. The airplane settled onto the grass to the left of the runway, then continued into bushes and cement blocks located about 150 feet off the runway.
Probable cause: The pilot’s improper full flap retraction while performing a go-around, which resulted in a loss of airplane control.
NTSB Identification: ERA12CA414
This June 2012 accident report is are provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
A go around checklist? Such a simple checklist for this single engine plane should already be memorized. Fly by the numbers is something for complex aircraft. A Cessna 177 isn’t a complex aircraft. What is on the pilot’s handbook should be second nature, that is unless the pilot requires a book to fly the airplane. I once was giving a checkout to a licensed pilot in a Cessna 172. He had flown one before. There is nothing more simple than a 172. That guy had the pilots handbook in his lap all the way from start up, takeoff, climbout, cruise, descent to landing, and even turning final. Half of his time was spent looking down at the book instead of looking for other airplanes. I finally told him to put that damned book away, keep his vision outside, and fly the plane. Did this pilot take his Private Pilot flight check ride with that book in his lap? I sure hope not.