Cessna 177 RG N1876Q accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while landing, resulting in an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB analysis

While entering the traffic pattern, the pilot was unable to locate the runway and was assisted by tower personnel. The pilot later told a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that while on final approach he was high and that his airspeed was ten miles per hour (mph) slower than the normal approach speed of eighty mph. During the landing the airplane stalled, struck on the nosewheel, and bounced twice into the air. The pilot added power in an attempt to go around, but the airplane impacted the runway, causing the left main landing gear to collapse. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and came to rest approximately one hundred yards to the east. The pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail section, both main landing gear, and the left wing tip. At the time of the accident, the pilot had flown approximately ten hours that day.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN09CA372 for the full record.