This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
We experienced an incident during landing.
I was the pilot in command. In my flight, I was accompanied by my safety pilot.
During the approach for Runway XX, the wind reported 040 13G 17 (direct crosswind). During the landing phase, the Cessna 150 was blowing to the left but I swiftly applied full power and attempted to go-around.
Due to the wind constantly pushing the aircraft to the left, the aircraft underperformed during the climb. Hearing the stall sound, I noticed that the aircraft was unable to climb, so I rapidly lowered the nose and landed on the taxiway. The landing was successful, with no harm to either the aircraft or anyone else.
My safety pilot and I talked about the incident and we learned a lot.
We could avoid this issue by landing at a different airport due to the strong direct crosswind at ZZZ Airport.
Even while mistakes are inevitable, I think this experience gave me important insights into how to prevent them by being extremely cautious and making better decisions.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
ACN: 2121366
Isn’t the 150 the all-time most popular trainer? They do what they are supposed to do. I did my checkride in one.
Many aircraft will appear to not perform when attempting to climb full flaps barely above stall speed. Usually they are climbing but so marginally that it appears they aren’t. If a go-around is started close to stall speed near or on the runway, it may require staying level in ground effect to gain speed and retract flaps before any attempt to climb is made.
What stands out here is that these pilots are self-learning what they should have been taught as student pilots, in flight planning, operation of the airplane, and understanding one’s limitations. Flight test standards don’t have a task that specifically tests crosswind skills. Did they ever get adequate training and testing in crosswinds? Maybe not.
You wrote “Flight test standards don’t have a task that specifically tests crosswind skills.” I had no idea, could this be true? I’m not a CFI but I have instructed at an airline and it’s no wonder we see new pilots that can’t land in a crosswind.
The takeoff and landing tasks have this note: Note: If a crosswind condition does not exist, the applicant’s knowledge of crosswind elements must be evaluated through oral testing.
The first mistake was even before getting into the airplane by possibly not checking the weather and making a go no-go decision.
The second mistake is trying to land at an airport with that much crosswind component.
The third mistake is not realizing the situation sooner and trying to land.
Under power is an understatement. I had a C-150 for many years. Why do you think they put a Lycoming 235 in the C-152 and why do they put a 150 HP engine the the 150? Once I departed a 4000′ elevation runway with a friend. I was barley climbing at 300FPM. That was the day I decided to sell my C-150.
Well a 150 is an at the mercy of the elements plane.
Flew in one once at night, was amazed at how long we flew and I could still see the airport right behind us!..😆
Two 600-plus hour Commercial Pilot certificate holders can’t maintain directional control while trying to land a Cessna 150 in a challenging crosswind.
Their solution: “Crab a-little longer to stay centered on runway.”
And risk touching down ‘sideways’.
Really?
A better solution: Stop ‘crabbing’ and set up a side slip early enough to determine whether you CAN maintain it once you’re over the runway. If it’s not possible while you’re on final …it’s probably not going to get better during the “landing phase”.
Then the airplane couldn’t climb during their attempted go-around.
One pilot reported: “Due to the wind constantly pushing the aircraft to the left, the aircraft underperformed during the climb.”
The other pilot reported their approach was “stable”. What’s the probability they were using full flaps during their “stable approach”, and then didn’t retract them during their panicked go-around? A heavy 150 isn’t going to climb well with 40 degrees of flaps, regardless of the wind.