| Crash location | 45.830278°N, 122.637500°W |
| Nearest city | La Center, WA
45.862337°N, 122.670378°W 2.7 miles away |
| Tail number | N18542 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 16 Jul 2004 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna 150L |
| Additional details: | None |
On July 16, 2004, at approximately 1100 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N18542, was substantially damaged when it struck trees and impacted the ground at Daybreak Airport, near La Center, Washington. The flight instructor and private pilot received minor injuries. Aero Maintenance Inc., of Vancouver, Washington was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country instructional flight that originated from Vancouver, Washington, approximately 1 hour before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed for the local flight.
The flight instructor said that he was giving the private pilot a flight review. They had done some air work and he had asked the private pilot to perform a full-stop landing at Daybreak Airport (runway 13, 2,200 feet long). He said that the private pilot had set up the landing and had lowered the flaps to the full down position. The flight instructor said that "it was apparent that we were high and long for the landing." He told the private pilot to abort the landing. The private pilot first raised the flaps, and the airplane "immediately" mushed to a lower altitude. The flight instructor said that he applied full power and put the carburetor heat in [off]. He took control of the airplane and attempted to continue flight. The airplane struck some trees and impacted the ground.
The private pilot receiving the flight review said, in a telephone interview, that he thought he put the power in first and then put the carburetor heat in [off]. He had an estimated 200 hours of flight experience, and he said that he flies approximately 5 to 10 hours per year. The airplane manufacturer's Owner's Manual states that a go-around is performed by:
1. Throttle -- Full "OPEN."
2. Carburetor Heat -- Cold.
3. Wing Flaps -- Retract to 20 degrees.
4. Upon reaching an airspeed of approximately 65 MPH, retract flaps slowly.
The private pilot receiving the flight review's failure to follow the Owner’s Manual's procedures for a go-around. Contributing factors were the flight instructor's delay in telling the private pilot to go-around, and the trees.