Cessna 182P N7437Q accident near Woodland, California

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper descent path during the approach to land, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing, and his improper retraction of the flaps during the subsequent attempted go-around.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was returning from a local area flight. After determining that the wind was calm, the pilot elected to conduct a straight-in approach. During the descent to the runway, the pilot realized that the airplane was higher than appropriate and extended the flaps to 40 degrees. He continued the approach and, when the airplane touched down hard on the runway, it bounced about 5 feet back into the air. The pilot decided to abort the landing rather than continue bouncing down the runway. The pilot added full power and retracted the flaps to 0 degrees. The airplane’s right wing rose and the left wing impacted the surface. According to the Cessna pilot’s operating handbook, during a balked landing, the flaps should be retracted to 20 degrees after full power is applied, and then retracted slowly after the airplane reaches 80 miles per hour. Postaccident examination revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR12CA268 for the full record.