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WPR20LA325

2020-09-25 · Bridgeport, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport O57

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

An inadvertent retraction of the flaps during a go-around by the pilot-rated passenger, which caused the airplane to settle onto the runway with the landing gear retracted.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during landing, he elected to go-around because of an overshoot of final and an unstable approach. The pilot applied full power, raised the landing gear, and initiated a climb out. At the same time, the pilot-rated passenger, inadvertently raised the flaps prematurely, which caused the airplane to settle onto the runway with the landing gear retracted. Once the propeller contacted the runway surface, the airplane veered off to the right of the runway and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions 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-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action selection-Passenger
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-TE flap control system-Unintentional use/operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_WPR20LA325.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 (go-around). All research papers