NTSB ERA21LA202 — 2021-05-02 · Martinsville, Virginia, United States

Current FAA registration · N1089D

Make / Model: CESSNA 172S
Year of manufacture: 2006 · 15 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20060809
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A02603

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1089D Cessna 172S None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper pitch control during a go-around in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in a tail strike and a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during a visual approach to land in gusting crosswind conditions, while on “short final”, the airplane was high and full flaps were added. The airplane continued to be “high and slow on the round out” so he initiated a go-around maneuver. During the go-around, the pilot applied full power, however the airplane continued to sink and slow which resulted in a tail strike and runway excursion to the left off the runway into the grass. The fuselage and engine mount sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Incorrect use/operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_ERA21LA202.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion, go-around). All research papers