Piper PA-28-235 N918JR accident near Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Probable cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during a go-around, resulting in a stall/mush.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot was on a local training flight. After flying about 1 hour in the practice area, she returned to the airport to perform touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The reported winds at the time of the accident were 200 at 4 knots. During the approach to runway 32, she felt that a crosswind blew the airplane to the left. Landing in this position would have resulted in excessive stress to the left main landing gear. The student pilot initiated a go-around, applying full power and turning off carburetor heat. She indicated that at this point, an updraft pushed the airplane nose up and the airplane stalled. The student pilot attempted to recover from the stall; however, the "controls were sloppy and the airplane was not responding." The airplane came to rest inverted.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR10CA233 for the full record.