| Crash location | 31.867223°N, 107.635833°W |
| Nearest city | Columbus, NM
31.827600°N, 107.640023°W 2.7 miles away |
| Tail number | N9849V |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 13 Aug 2014 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna 188 - Undesignat |
| Additional details: | None |
On August 13, 2014, at 0930 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 188, N9849V, impacted a field during an aborted landing at First Aero Squadron Airpark (NM09), Columbus, New Mexico, while returning from an aerial application. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot was uninjured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot did not hold an agricultural aircraft operator certificate under 14 CFR Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was not operating on a flight plan and originated from NM09 at 0805.
The pilot stated that during an initial swath run of the second flight of the day, the spray pump ceased working. He was unable to get the spray pump to work again while circling a field so he decided to return and land at NM09 with the undispensed load of agricultural applicant. Upon touch down on runway 27 (4,000 feet by 100 feet, gravel), the airplane bounced after hitting "rough spot." The pilot performed an aborted landing, applied full engine power, and selected flaps to their second setting. The pilot realized that the airplane did not have enough engine power to climb above approaching terrain so he started a slow turn to the left to fly crosswise to the terrain at an altitude of about 15 feet above ground level and felt he was doing fine. The pilot said that he did not realize that the airplane was near stall speed and it did not seem to him that there was any buffet or warning before the airplane stalled. The pilot said the airplane was not equipped with a stall warning indicator. The airplane impacted the ground, which resulted in the right main landing gear tearing off and the right wing peeling back at a 45-degree angle. The airplane skidded about 40 feet and flipped over, crushing the top of the vertical stabilizer and cockpit.
The pilot said the runway has a 1 1/2 percent rise to the west and locals, regardless of wind, take offs are performed downhill to the east and landings are performed uphill to the west
The pilot's safety recommendation was: "There is a dump lever, there is a dump lever, there is a dump lever.... use it !!!"
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the Albuquerque Flight Standards District Office, the pilot did not release the agricultural applicant payload of about 600 pounds prior to the attempted landing. The inspector also stated that the pilot did not have a current flight review.
The pilot’s failure to release the load of agricultural product before the landing approach and his failure to maintain aircraft control during an initial climb after an aborted landing, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall.