HOWARD AIRCRAFT DGA 15P — Monongahela, PA, 2017

HOWARD AIRCRAFT DGA 15P — Monongahela, PA

1 fatal High-time pilot

Date	April 12, 2017
Location	Monongahela, PA
Aircraft	HOWARD AIRCRAFT DGA 15P
Purpose of flight	Personal
Conditions	Day · Visual Meteorological Cond
Phase / occurrence	Approach-VFR go-around Aerodynamic stall/spin
Pilot age	42
Pilot total time	1,109 hrs · Experienced
Time in type	30 hrs
Fatalities	1

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during an attempted go-around in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall.

NTSB findings

Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained - C
Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Not specified

What happened

Witnesses observed the airplane touch down left of the runway centerline in gusting crosswind conditions and then attempt to go-around. As the engine noise increased, the airplane yawed 90° left and banked left, perpendicular to the runway. The airplane's nose pitched up, and the airplane subsequently entered an aerodynamic stall and rolled inverted before impacting a ravine about 400 ft left of the runway. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was equipped with a 450-hp radial engine. It is likely that, upon application of engine power to initiate the go-around, the pilot failed to adequately compensate for the extreme left-turning tendencies of the high-powered engine, which resulted in a subsequent loss of control and aerodynamic stall.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.