Cessna 177 N34867 accident near Wickenburg, Arizona

Probable cause

The pilot's incorrect balked landing procedure, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent, hard landing, a runway excursion, and nose gear collapse.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that after a hard landing the airplane began to porpoise and he decided to abort the landing. The pilot reported that during the aborted landing, he added power and as the airplane began to climb, he retracted the flaps too soon and too quickly and the airplane settled back onto the runway, landed hard again, veered off the runway to the right, collapsed the nose gear, and stopped in a nose down attitude.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right aileron, fuselage, and empennage.

The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

The procedures for a balked landing, as provided by Cessna, state:

1. Power – Full throttle and 2700 RPM

2. Carburetor Heat – Cold

3. Wing Flaps – Retract to 20 degrees

4. Upon reaching an airspeed of approximately 75 MPH, retract flaps slowly

The pilot reported as a safety recommendation to wait longer for the aircraft to further stabilize, gain speed, and begin climbing before retracting flaps.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA16CA404 for the full record.