Cessna 182 N96974 accident near Marion, Indiana

Probable cause

The pilot's improper trim setting and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during a go-around, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, during landing, the airplane landed hard and bounced. He decided to go around, so he added full power, but the nose pitched up sharply. He added that he attempted to lower the nose, but the airspeed decreased, and the airplane "lost lift on [the] right side." He pushed forward on the control yoke, but the airplane drifted right, the right wing aerodynamically stalled, and the airplane impacted the ground next to a taxiway and spun around. A passenger saw a fire in front of the firewall, and all occupants exited the airplane.

The airplane was destroyed by postaccident fire.

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that the pilot stated he used nose-up trim during the approach. The pilot also stated that, during the go-around, he attempted to use the electric trim to trim nose down. When the airplane nosed up, the pilot attempted to lower the nose but hesitated due to the airplane being near the ground, and he retracted the flaps. The FAA inspector examined the airplane and found that the trim setting was "just short of full nose up trim."

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA19CA246 for the full record.