Bounce and Climb

Departing Clearwater Air Park (KCLW), Clearwater, FL — Runway 16, landing practice. Elevation 71 ft MSL. It is a clear, calm Florida morning: OAT 22°C, wind calm to light, altimeter 30.01. Visibility 10+ SM. A routine VFR training flight with your CFI in the right seat.

You are on your third full-stop landing of the morning. The approach to Runway 16 is stable at 65 KIAS (Vref), flare is smooth, but on touchdown the airplane bounces — a firm landing that pitches the nose up and lifts the mains off the runway. You are now 15–20 ft AGL, airspeed decaying, and the runway is still ahead of you.

Your CFI is quiet in the right seat. The airplane is yours. You have a choice: land again (forward slip, slip to land, or accept a second touchdown), or go around. You decide to go around. You advance the throttle to full power, but as you do, you pull back on the yoke — hard — to climb out of the bounce. The nose pitches up sharply.

Aircraft: Cessna 172S, dual, full fuel, within limits. Lycoming IO-360-L2A fuel-injected engine, G1000 glass panel, fixed gear, fixed-pitch prop. Nothing was written up; the airplane is airworthy.

Pilot: you — a Private pilot, roughly 150 hours total, current, with 12 landings in the C172S. You have not done a go-around in the C172S in the past month. Your CFI is present but is not flying the airplane — you are. The decision to go around and how you execute it is yours.

NTSB CEN25LA128 (2025): A Cessna 172S lost control during landing flare and the pilot initiated a go-around near a tree line at low altitude. The pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed during the go-around, leading to an aerodynamic stall and terrain impact. The probable cause was the pilot's failure to maintain airplane control and adequate airspeed during the go-around.

NTSB CEN14CA322 (2014): A Cessna 172S being flown by a student pilot during landing practice stalled and impacted terrain off the left side of the runway when the student applied excessive back pressure on the control yoke during a go-around after a bounced landing. The probable cause was the student pilot's use of excessive back pressure on the flight controls during the attempted go-around, which induced a stall and loss of control.

NTSB CEN13LA348 (2013): A Cessna 172S flown by a solo student pilot stalled during a go-around after a bounced landing at Grand Forks International Airport. The probable cause was the student pilot's inadequate recovery from the bounced landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall during the go-around.

NTSB CEN17FA111 (2017, FATAL): A Cessna 172S conducting spin training maneuvers collided with a reservoir after the pilots failed to recover from an intentional aerodynamic spin. The probable cause was the failure of the pilots to apply prompt and/or correct flight control inputs to adequately recover from the intentional aerodynamic spin. This accident demonstrates the lethal consequences of a spin at low altitude — there is no time to recover.

NTSB ERA14FA283 (2014, FATAL): A Cessna 172S on an instructional night flight experienced a partial loss of engine power during initial climb after a touch-and-go landing at Daytona Beach and impacted the ground. The pilots' decision to turn back to the airport led the aircraft to exceed its critical angle of attack and experience an aerodynamic stall while maneuvering. The probable cause was a partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, with the pilots' decision to turn back contributing to the stall.

NTSB WPR12FA230 (2012, FATAL): A Cessna 172S stalled during an aggressive pitch-up maneuver shortly after takeoff from St. George Municipal Airport and impacted terrain. The probable cause was the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the aggressive pitch-up maneuver, which resulted in a low-altitude aerodynamic stall. Contributing factors included alcohol impairment and an over-gross-weight aircraft.

NTSB WPR25LA211 (2025): A Cessna 172S on an instructional flight stalled during initial climb from a short runway after the flight instructor failed to conduct a preflight inspection and the engine did not develop full power. The probable cause was inadequate preflight procedures and continuation of takeoff with insufficient engine performance.

The consistent thread across all these events: excessive pitch-up at low altitude, combined with inadequate airspeed, leads to a stall. In a go-around after a bounce, the pilot's instinct is to pitch up aggressively to climb out of the situation. But at 20 ft AGL with an airspeed near stall speed, that instinct is lethal. The correct technique is gentle pitch, maintain airspeed, and let the airplane climb. At KCLW, the off-field environment off Runway 16 (dense to medium development) offers no alternate landing surface. A stall at 20 ft AGL is a terrain impact — there is no recovery.

These real accidents occurred at other airports and in other aircraft — NOT at Clearwater Air Park. KCLW has its own accident history (see field dominant patterns), but these specific events happened elsewhere. The scenario is localized to KCLW to make the off-field environment real and consequential for you as a student here.