ATL03LA044
2003-02-11 · Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport 0A7
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control and clearence from power lines during a go-around, resulting in an in-flight collision with a powerline.
Factual narrative
On February 11, 2003, at 1420 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172, N80355 registered to and operated by a private pilot, collided with an airport hanger while attempting a go-around at Hendersonville Airport, Hendersonville, North Carolina. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and passenger received minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from the Hendersonville Airport on February 11, 2003 at 1320. According to the pilot, on final to runway 14 the airplane encountered varying crosswinds gusting up to 16 knots. During landing flare the winds shifted to a quartering tailwind. The crosswinds caused the airplane to drift to the left toward a row of "T" hangars. The pilot applied 40 degrees of flaps 50 feet from the runway. The airplane floated down the runway with a slight loss in attitude. The pilot elected to execute a go-around. During the go-around, the right main gear collided with a power line adjacent to the "T" hangars. The airplane nosed over, and collided with an airport hanger. The airplane fell and collided with the ground approximately 40 feet east of the "T" hangers. The nearest weather reporting facility at the time of the accident was Asheville Regional Airport, Asheville, North Carolina. It is located 9 nautical miles northwest of the Hendersonville Airport. The 1420 surface weather observation was: clear, visibility 10 miles, temperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 50 degrees Fahrenheit, wind 230 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 16 knots, and altimeter 29.95 inches of mercury. Examination of the wreckage site revealed the airplane came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed, both wings were bent back aft towards the fuselage. The engine mounts were buckled and the firewall displayed crush damage. The fuselage of the airplane revealed crush damage. The horizontal and vertical stabilizer displayed crush damage. No mechanical or flight control malfunctions were reported by the pilot. According to the pilot, on final approach to runway 14 the airplane encountered crosswinds gusting up to 16 knots. During the landing flare the winds shifted to a quartering tailwind. The pilot elected to execute a go-around. During the go-around, the right main gear collided with a power line. The airplane nosed over, and impacted an airport hangar. The airplane descended and impacted the ground. No mechanical or flight control malfunctions were reported by the pilot prior to impact. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2003_ATL03LA044.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). All research papers
- NASA NTRS 2023 · Reprint (Version printed in journal) Finite Element Simulation of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests for Cessna 172 Aircraft
The NASA Emergency Locator Transmitter Survivability and Reliability project was initiated in 2013 to assess the crash performance standards for the next generation of emergency locator transmitter (E…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Crash Testing and Simulation of a Cessna 172 Aircraft: Pitch Down Impact Onto Soft Soil
During the summer of 2015, NASA Langley Research Center conducted three full-scale crash tests of Cessna 172 (C-172) aircraft at the NASA Langley Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM) Simulating the Impact Response of Three Full-Scale Crash Tests of Cessna 172 Aircraft
During the summer of 2015, a series of three full-scale crash tests were performed at the Landing and Impact Research Facility located at NASA Langley Research Center of Cessna 172 aircraft.
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Conference Paper A Training Study to Improve Monitoring During A Go-Around
As part of an FAA program to improve go-around (GA) safety, we were asked to determine if we could improve the performance of the Pilot Monitoring (PM) during a GA maneuver.
- Flight Safety Foundation 2024 · FSF / AeroSafety World Go-Around Safety Forum Findings
Foundation Go-Around Safety Forum technical findings — examines why pilots fail to execute go-arounds when criteria are met (stabilized approach gate not met, energy state out of envelope, traffic con…
- Semantic Scholar 2022 · Article (Journal of Safety Research) Go-around accidents and general aviation safety.
INTRODUCTION Changes in General Aviation (GA) accident rates, specifically in the go-around phase, are examined by comparing the number of accidents, the proportion of fatal accidents, and the proport…