NTSB Factual Report

On February 18, 2003, at 1730 eastern standard time, a Beech C23, N2190W, registered to A & E Air LLC and operated by a student pilot collided with terrain during final approach to Valdosta Regional Airport, Valdosta, Georgia. The instructional flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The student pilot received minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight departed Valdosta Regional Airport, Valdosta, Georgia, on February 18, 2003 at 1700.

According to the student pilot, the airplane was high on approach to runway 17. The pilot contacted the Valdosta control tower and requested a go-around. The tower controller cleared the flight to make a right turn to enter a left downwind to runway 35. When the student pilot reached down to retract the flaps, the airplane stalled and collided into a stand of trees.

Examination of the wreckage site revealed the airplane came to rest in a stand of trees at the approach end of runway 17. Examination of the right wing revealed it separated from the airframe at the wing root. Approximately four feet of the outboard left wing was separated. The fuselage and empennage sections of the airframe were buckled. No mechanical or flight control malfunctions were reported by the student pilot.

Review of the pilots operating handbook revealed: Power off stall speeds as follows: flaps up, level 61 knots; flaps down (35 degrees), level, 50 knots. Maximum altitude loss during a normal stall recovery is approximately 300 feet.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during a go-around resulting in an inadvertent stall and collision with trees.