LOWELL, MI, USA
N1106F
Cessna 172
Witnesses reported the airplane made a landing approach with a quartering tailwind. The witnesses said the airplane hit the runway hard and bounced into the air two times. They reported the engine went to full power after the second bounce. The airplane had flown through five trees before colliding with the second story of a home. Shortly after getting the airplane's occupants out of the airplane, there was an explosion in the home. The pilot said he did a go-around as the airplane neared the runway's midpoint. He said he '...focusd on the trees in front of [him] and pulled significantly on [the] yoke trying to make the plane climb.' The pilot said he was not familiar with the terms 'back side of the power curve,' or 'region of reverse command.' The accident pilot's instructor was asked how he taught landings. He said the landing technique comes to the student through flying '...a whole bunch...' with the student. The accident pilot said his private pilot checkride lasted about 35 minutes. His logbook records confirm this. The FAA Designated Pilot Examiner's records showed 1.2 hours spent on a flight test.
On June 10, 1996, at 2000 eastern daylight time (edt), a Cessna 172, N1106F, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees and a house during a go-around following a landing. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and 2 passengers reported minor injuries. A third passenger was seriously injured. An occupant of the home received minor injuries. A firefighter received minor injuries during conduct of his duties while securing the accident scene. The flight departed Lowell, Michigan, at 1900 edt. The pilot had been making a landing approach to runway 33 (1,931' X 80' dry sod) at the Lowell Municipal Airport, Lowell, Michigan. Witnesses reported the airplane had landed with a quartering tailwind. They said it hit the runway hard and bounced into the air twice. Shortly after the second runway contact the witnesses reported they heard the engine go to full power. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)Principal Operations Inspector (POI) representing the NTSB on-scene, the airplane flew through the tops of 5 trees. The POI said the airplane imbedded itself into a home's second story bedroom shortly after flying through the fifth tree. An occupant of the bedroom was forced into the hallway by the collision forces. A firefighter had intended to turn off the home's furnace pilot light due to fumes from N1106F's leaking fuel. He opened the home's basement door and an explosion occurred. The explosion expelled the airplane from the home. The following fires on the airplane and home were extinguished by the local fire department. About 1 to 1-1/2 hours after the accident the home caught fire a second time and was destroyed. According to the pilot's written statement, the airport's wind sock was limp. He said he was a "...little high..." on final approach. The pilot said he reduced N1106F's power too idle and "...nosed over/yoke forward a few degrees for a few seconds." He pitched the airplane down because he believed the airspeed was slow, "I was going about 65-67 knots... ." The airplane flew over his selected aiming point by a "...short distance... [and] the plane wasn't settling." The pilot said he applied back elevator pressure and the airplane touched the runway and ballooned about 20 to 25 feet into the air. As the airplane neared the runway's midpoint, the pilot said he decided to go around. He said he "...focused on the trees in front of [him] and pulled significantly on [the] yoke trying to make the plane climb. The plane did not climb as expected... and we began hitting tree tops." He continued, "I maintained back pressure on the yoke through the crash." Four days after the accident a telephone interview was conducted with the pilot. During this interview he said he was "...a little high..." and fast on final approach. He said he pitched the airplane down to "...get down..." for landing. According to the pilot, the airplane seemed fast during the landing flare. He said the airplane hit the runway and bounced about 18 to 20 feet into the air. He said the airplane began to slow and pitched it down to gain speed. The pilot said he began a go-around and retracted the airplane's flaps. The pilot was asked if he could recall how many degrees of flap he retracted. He said he held the flap switch for about 3 seconds and did not look at the gauge because he was busy flying the airplane. According to the pilot, he felt the airplane sink when the flaps were retracting and added elevator back pressure. He said the airplane was climbing at a slow rate and accelerated more slowly than on takeoff. The POI said N1106F's flaps were in the retracted position at the accident site. During the go-around maneuver the pilot said he was "...pulling..." on the control yoke and peeking over the airplane's nose to see where it was going. He said he braced himself up in the seat to see in front of the airplane. "I couldn't pull on the yoke hard enough to get it to climb." The pilot was asked if he were familiar with the terms "drag," "region of reverse command," or the "backside of the power curve." He said he was not familiar with the last 2 terms. A discussion about landing was conducted with the pilot. He was asked how he would judge an airplane's final approach glide path. He replied that he focuses on the runway end and pitches the airplane to the airspeed and uses power to control the altitude. He continued, saying the runway end closest to him is where he would look. If the end was big and the end further away was smaller he said he would be on glide path. He was asked if uses an aiming point while on final as an aid to judge the airplane's glide path. He said he does the go-around when the airplane flies over it. The flight instructor who flew with the pilot in the accident airplane was asked how he would teach a pilot to judge the final approach glide path. He said he uses an aiming point, usually the runway threshold. He said the aiming point is usually in the windscreen or on the cowling. The instructor used an example: He said there are many trees surrounding the accident airport. According to the instructor, he tells the students that if they see more trees in the windscreen than runway threshold they are low on glide path. The flight instructor continued, explaining if the student sees more runway threshold in the windscreen than trees they are high. He added, the landing technique comes through flying "...a whole bunch..." with the student until they know how it should look. The pilot received his private pilot's certificate on March 28, 1996. An FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) conducted the required oral and flight examinations. According to the pilot, his oral examination lasted about 15 to 20 minutes. He said the flight test lasted about 35 to 40 minutes. An aircraft rental receipt for the flight test date showed a 2-hour rental by the pilot. The one-way flight time from the pilot's home airport to the DPE's airport was about 35 to 40 minutes according to the FAA POI. FAA Form 8710-1, Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application, which was filed by the DPE showed 1.1 and 1.2 hours of ground and flight time respectively for the flight test. The DPE's logbook showed only 2 flights on March 28, 1996. Both flights were in a Cessna 525 totaling 4.0 hours. Of this time, 1.5 hours was logged as night flight. The DPE's flight check record showed he had the applicant perform 2 landings and 1 go-around maneuver. Besides these operations the DPE recorded he had the applicant perform turns-around-a- point, slow flight maneuvering, power-on stalls, basic instrument flight, pilotage and ded. recokoning navigation, demonstrate navigation systems and radar services, divert to an altrnate airport, and demonstrate lost procedures. He also had the pilot demonstrate an emergency approach and landing to a runway. To fly 1 circuit in the traffic pattern requires about 6 to 8 minutes. N1106F's engine was examined and static run. An FAA Principal Maintenance Inspector (PMI)conducted the examination and runup. The PMI said he found pine needles in the engine's number 3 cylinder. He said the engine performed to the manufacturer's specifications.
was inadequate initial training of the pilot and inadequate flight test procedures by the FAA Designated Pilot Examiner when he reportedly had the pilot demonstrate 12 pilot operations from the FAA's practical flight test standards in 35 minutes during the pilot's private pilot flight test. A factor in this accident was the pilot's improper landing approach and go-around procedures.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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