White County Airporr Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Monticello, Indiana 47960
Saturday, October 25, 2008 17:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot and three passengers in a Cessna 172P, which had 40 gallons of fuel on board, were on final approach to runway 36 after a 30 minute flight. The pilot reported that when the airplane was about 50 feet above ground level (agl), he executed a go-around because it felt like the winds were pushing the airplane left of the runway. He pushed in the throttle, raised the flaps 1 notch, and gradually raised the airplane's pitch attitude. (He did not push in the Carburetor Heat to the OFF position.) He reported that the airplane stalled and subsequently nosed over when the propeller impacted the terrain. The airport manager observed the airplane approaching from the south and landing on runway 36 even though the winds were out of the south. He reported that the pilot attempted to go-around when the airplane was about 15 feet agl, but the airplane stalled as it attempted to climb at low airspeed with a tailwind component. The airport manager noted that the winds were 220 degrees at 12 knots. A windsock and wind "T" were installed at the airport.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot stalled the airplane during a go-around. Contributing to the accident included the pilot's improper in-flight decision, the tailwind landing, and the pilot's failure to put the carburetor Heat to "OFF" during the go-around.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/25/2008
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1710
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Monticello
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 47960
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404231N
Event Location Longitude 0864600W
Event Location Airport White County Airporr
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MCX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1654 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID LAF
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3400
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.87
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KLAF 252054Z 22014G18KT 10SM SCT034 BKN047 1
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24592
NTSB Notification Source Indiana State Highway Patrol
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 4 2009 2:12PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N54971
NTSB Number CEN09CA041
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172
Aircraft Series Identifier P
Aircraft Serial Number 17275095
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Lafayette Aviation Inc
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City West Lafayette
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Lafayette Aviation Inc
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City West Lafayette
Operator State IN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LAF
Departure City West Lafayette
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code MCX
Destination City Monticello
Destination State IN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 4 2009 2:13PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 4002
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --