LAX06CA143

Factual narrative

On April 19, 2006, about 1820 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N757GF, impacted the ground and was substantially damaged at the Merced Municipal Airport, Merced, California. The airplane was operated by KS Aviation, d.b.a. Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, Atwater, California. Neither the certified flight instructor (CFI) who held a commercial pilot certificate, nor the student pilot, was injured during the attempted go-around. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The local area instructional flight originated from Atwater about 1750. The CFI reported to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that the accident occurred following the student's bounced landing on runway 30 and attempted go-around. The student applied full engine power, retracted the wing flaps to the 10-degree setting, turned the carburetor heat off, and lost directional control of the airplane. The CFI reported that the airplane yawed violently left, at which point he took the flight controls from his student while the airplane was still in the ground effect. The CFI decided to continue the go-around procedure, but he was not able to salvage the maneuver, and the airplane continued a slow descent to the ground. The CFI further reported that the airplane touched down on the ground adjacent to the runway. Thereafter, directional control was lost and the airplane was substantially damaged when the left wing impacted the ground. The CFI reported that he had been an instructor for about 6 months. His student had about 30 hours of flight time. The airport manager reported to the Safety Board investigator that, according to weather data stored in the airport's Automatic Surface Observing System (ASOS), at the time of the accident the wind was from 360 degrees at 3 knots, and the sky was clear. The CFI stated that the visibility was 10 miles. The Safety Board investigator also noted that 27 minutes earlier, at 1753, the ASOS recorded that that the wind was from 340 at 6 knots. According to the Federal Aviation Administration's "Airport Facility Directory," runway 30 is 5,903 feet long and 150 feet wide. The airplane settled to the ground during an attempted go-around from a bounced landing. The certified flight instructor (CFI) said that the accident occurred following the student's bounced landing on runway 30 and attempted go-around. The student applied full engine power, retracted the wing flaps to the 10-degree setting, turned the carburetor heat off, and lost directional control of the airplane. The CFI reported that the airplane yawed violently left, at which point he took the flight controls from his student while the airplane was still in ground effect. The CFI decided to continue the go-around procedure, but he was not able to salvage the maneuver, and the airplane continued a slow descent to the ground. The CFI further reported that the airplane touched down on the ground adjacent to the runway. Thereafter, directional control was lost and the airplane was substantially damaged when the left wing impacted the ground. At the time of the occurrence, the wind speed was 3 knots. The CFI had been a flight instructor for about 6 months prior to the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12