Cessna 177RG N46321 accident near La Verne, California

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and the exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during a turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control. Contributing to the accident was an undetermined engine anomaly.

NTSB analysis

The pilot and passenger were departing the airport; a witness stated that he heard backfiring during the airplane's takeoff roll. He then observed the airplane become airborne and the landing gear start to retract. About 1 minute 30 seconds after the pilot received take off clearance, the pilot requested a return to the airport due to an engine problem. The air traffic controller cleared the pilot to land on runway 8L, and the pilot subsequently initiated a right turn. The witness then observed the airplane descend to the ground in a nose-low attitude. It is likely that, while returning to the airport after takeoff, the pilot failed to maintain the proper airspeed, which resulted in the exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall.

Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation and the cause of the engine problem, as reported by the pilot, could not be determined.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR18FA279 for the full record.