Howard Aircraft DGA 15P N4476N accident near Monongahela, Pennsylvania

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during an attempted go-around in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall.

NTSB analysis

Witnesses observed the airplane touch down left of the runway centerline in gusting crosswind conditions and then attempt to go-around. As the engine noise increased, the airplane yawed 90° left and banked left, perpendicular to the runway. The airplane's nose pitched up, and the airplane subsequently entered an aerodynamic stall and rolled inverted before impacting a ravine about 400 ft left of the runway. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was equipped with a 450-hp radial engine. It is likely that, upon application of engine power to initiate the go-around, the pilot failed to adequately compensate for the extreme left-turning tendencies of the high-powered engine, which resulted in a subsequent loss of control and aerodynamic stall.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA17FA153 for the full record.