Bounce and Climb

Arriving at Clearwater Air Park (KCLW), Clearwater, FL — Runway 34, elevation 71 ft MSL. You are on a local instructional flight with your CFI; this is a stage-check landing practice session. You have about 180 hours total time, 120 in the Piper Archer.

The afternoon is warm and gusty. Surface wind is 310° at 14 knots, gusting to 22 knots. Runway 34 is oriented 335° magnetic — a crosswind from the left of roughly 8–10 knots steady, with gusts pushing 15+ knots. Visibility is good (8 SM), scattered clouds at 2,500 ft. The field is non-towered (CTAF); you will self-announce on 122.8.

You are on a 3-mile final for Runway 34, descending through 800 ft AGL, airspeed 75 KIAS, flaps 20°. The wind is noticeably gusty — you are hand-flying, correcting for wind drift and occasional updrafts. Your CFI is in the right seat, observing. The runway is ahead. The approach feels stable but busy.

Aircraft: Piper PA-28-181 Archer, solo plus CFI, within limits. Carbureted Lycoming O-360, 180 hp, fixed-pitch prop, fixed gear, steam panel. Nothing was written up; the airplane is airworthy.

Pilot: you — a Private pilot, current, roughly 180 hours total, 120 in type. You have done crosswind landings before, but not in gusts this strong. Your CFI has not yet taken the controls; you are flying the approach.

NTSB ERA21LA139 (2021): A Piper PA-28-181 on a stage-check landing attempt stalled when the student pilot flared too high and failed to execute a go-around despite stall warning and instructor command. The accident resulted from the student pilot's improper landing flare and failure to add power during go-around, with a contributing factor of delayed instructor remedial action. The pilot under instruction did not respond to the stall warning or the instructor's command to add power.

NTSB CEN12LA337 (2012): A Piper PA-28-181 touched down too far down the runway at high speed, porpoised, and struck trees during a shallow climb-out after an aborted landing. The accident was attributed to the pilot's failure to attain a proper touchdown point at the proper speed, failure to initiate a proper go-around, and the airplane's inadequate climb gradient after the aborted landing. The pilot attempted to salvage a bad landing instead of going around.

NTSB CHI08CA147 (2008): A Piper PA-28-181 on an instructional flight stalled during a go-around when the student pilot improperly raised flaps and lost airspeed. The accident resulted from improper flap management during the go-around and failure to maintain airspeed. The student pulled back aggressively while retracting flaps too quickly, exceeding the critical angle of attack at low altitude.

NTSB ATL07CA048 (2007, Mooney M20J): A Mooney stalled during a go-around at 20–30 feet AGL with landing gear and flaps extended, striking the ground in an uncontrolled descent. The accident resulted from the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the go-around and inadequate adherence to the aircraft's operating procedures. The pilot prioritized pitch attitude over airspeed.

NTSB ERA20CA072 (2020, Beech C23): A Beech 23 bounced during landing in crosswind conditions, became airborne, and entered a full stall during the go-around despite full power and flaps. The accident resulted from the pilot's failure to manage pitch attitude carefully during go-around after a bounce in gusty conditions. The pilot's aggressive pitch-up led to stall even with full power applied.

NTSB CEN09CA459 (2009, Cessna 172P): A Cessna 172 floated past the touchdown zone in gusty winds, and during the subsequent go-around, the pilot stalled the aircraft at low altitude when setting climb pitch attitude. The accident resulted from failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the go-around in challenging wind conditions.

The consistent thread across all these events: a go-around at low altitude in gusty conditions is a high-risk maneuver. The stall occurs because the pilot pulls back aggressively to climb away from the runway without first building airspeed, or retracts flaps too quickly, or both. The critical angle of attack is exceeded before the airspeed has built enough to sustain the climb. At 40 ft AGL, there is no altitude to recover from a stall.

KCLW's off-field environment (dense development and low-density development around both runway ends) means that an uncontrolled descent from a stall during go-around is likely to impact structures or terrain short of the runway. This is not a water landing; it is impact with the built environment.

Real accidents cited above occurred at other airports and in other aircraft — NOT at KCLW. KCLW has its own accident history (see field dominant patterns: FORCED_LANDING 22.2%, LOSS_OF_CONTROL_INFLIGHT 18.5%, GEAR_UP_LANDING 18.5%, HARD_LANDING 11.1%, FUEL_STARVATION 11.1%), but these specific NTSB cases happened elsewhere. The scenario is localized to KCLW to make the off-field environment and the landing challenge real for you as a student here.

The key lesson: a bounce on landing in gusty conditions is a signal to go around immediately, not to salvage the landing. If you do go around, the priority is airspeed — not pitch, not flap retraction, not climb rate. Establish full power, establish a climb pitch gradually, and retract flaps progressively as airspeed builds. At 40 ft AGL with a stall warning, there is no recovery.