NTSB Factual Report

On May 8, 2002, at 1030 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172M, N754LT, collided with terrain during an aborted landing from the Continental airstrip (private), Green Valley, Arizona. The airplane was owned and operated by Wright Flight, Inc., of Tucson, Arizona, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot was not injured and the airline transport pilot licensed safety pilot sustained minor injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local area personal proficiency flight that departed from the Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, about 0900.

Officers from the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the Tucson Airport Authority Police Department responded to the accident site. They stated that the airplane was resting on a hillside just to the east of the Continental airstrip's north-south asphalt runway. The propeller was extensively bent and curled. The landing gear was torn off the fuselage and impact damage was evident to one wing and the fuselage belly. The flaps appeared to be full down. Both occupants exited the airplane unassisted and were transported to a hospital for medical treatment and evaluation. The winds at the accident site were from the south at an estimated 10 mph, with occasional variations in the direction from west through east.

The pilot was interviewed by telephone at a later time. He reported that he was doing high air work that included slow flight and stalls, when he decided to do some landings at Continental airstrip. He listened to the Airport Terminal Information Service (ATIS) for both Tucson and Nogales (Continental airstrip is almost exactly between the two airports, which are about 15 to 20 miles north and south of the airstrip), and both were reporting calm wind conditions. He did not overfly the airport to check for wind indications, and performed an extended right base entry to a long final approach. Neither he nor his passenger saw any indications of unusual wind activity, and assumed the wind was calm.

About 100 feet above ground level (agl) on short final approach to runway 1, the airplane encountered a down draft and literally "fell to the runway." The airplane bounced very hard, then bounced again and became airborne. He realized that trying to save the landing was not a good idea so he added full power to go around and abort the landing. The airplane became airborne and headed off the right side of the runway toward a hill rising about 40 feet that was about 200 feet from the pavement. The airplane was sluggish and would not climb, and he had trouble trying to make it turn to the left. He said he did not have time to retract the flaps before impact with the hillside. Both pilots indicated that prior to impact, the engine sounds were normal. It was later established that controls were functional and continuous, and no mechanical anomalies present.

Using a Safety Board computer program, the density altitude was calculated at 5,050 feet mean sea level (msl).

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to identify the wind direction, which led to an attempted downwind landing approach that resulted in a hard landing and severe bounce. Also causal was the pilot's failure to promptly retract the flaps during the rejected landing after touchdown, which led to a stall/mush condition during the takeoff initial climb and a resultant collision with terrain. Factors in the accident were the high density altitude and the prevailing tailwind condition.