Delta Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Delta, Utah 84624
Tuesady, February 23, 2010 15:45 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot was on his first solo cross-county fight, which had as its planned destination an airport that he had never been to prior to that flight. Upon arriving at the unfamiliar airport, he overflew the area in order to get a sight picture of the situation. He then flew a non-standard pattern to the final approach of the runway he chose to land on. Although his approach had not become stabilized by short final, he decided to continue the landing. When the airplaneā€™s main gear contacted the runway, it bounced back into the air, and the pilot decided to execute a go-around. During the go-around, the pilot, who said the engine sounded like it went to full rpm, did not let the airplane stabilize and accelerate before retracting the flaps, and he therefore found that the airplane would not maintain the climb that he tried to establish. As he attempted to continue the go-around, the airplane slowed and its left wing dropped, and the pilot was unable to maintain directional control. The airplane then descended into the soft terrain off the left side of the runway, and nosed over onto its back. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its wings, fuselage, and empennage. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector monitored an engine inspection and test run, which did not reveal any anomalies or issues with the engine, which was able to be run to full power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's incorrect use of the flaps and failure to attain and maintain an adequate airspeed during the attempted go-around procedure, which led to a stall/mush condition. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's lack of familiarity with the destination airport, and his delayed decision to execute the go-around.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/23/2010
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1545
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Delta
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84624
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 332253N
Event Location Longitude 1123019W
Event Location Airport Delta Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KDTA
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 4759
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 135
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26708
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 15 2010 2:00PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N894CT
NTSB Number WPR10CA146
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC
Aircraft Model DA 20-C1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number C0094
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 7 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 6054
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name KG LEASING LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 860 CHEROKEE DR
Aircraft Owner City PLEASANT GROVE
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84062-3442
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Utah Valley University
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Provo
Operator State UT
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KPVU
Departure City Provo
Departure State UT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code KDTA
Destination City Delta
Destination State UT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 12 2010 6:15PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 30
Runway Length 5935
Runway Width 85
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --