Cessna 172 N62568 accident near Daytona Beach, Florida

Probable cause

Both pilots’ failure to maintain control during the landing flare and the flight instructor’s failure to maintain control during an attempted go-around, in gusting quartering headwind conditions, which resulted in the exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall at low altitude.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor and a private pilot receiving instruction stated completed commercial pilot training maneuvers uneventfully and were returning to the airport for a full stop landing. The flight instructor advised the student to fly a higher approach speed due to a right quartering headwind at 10 knots, gusting to 18 knots. As the airplane entered ground effect, the nose was pointed 45° right of runway centerline. The instructor then took control of the airplane, along with the student, and tried to correct; however, the airplane drifted left of the runway. The instructor initiated a go-around, but the airplane pitched up, yawed left, and impacted a grass area consistent with an aerodynamic stall. It sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The instructor added that she lost control of the airplane and that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA21LA215 for the full record.