Bounce and Go-Around in Gusty Wind

Departing St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport (KPIE), Pinellas Park, FL — Runway 18, a 9,730-foot concrete runway. Elevation 11 ft MSL. You are on a local VFR flight, solo, full fuel, within limits. Cessna 172N, steam panel, carbureted Lycoming O-320, fixed gear, fixed-pitch prop.

It is a gusty afternoon in early spring. Surface wind is reported as 180° at 12 knots, gusting to 22 knots. Runway 18 is aligned 171° true (roughly into the wind, but not perfectly). The gust is a crosswind component — roughly 8 knots from the left. Visibility 10 SM, scattered clouds at 3,000 ft, no precipitation. KPIE tower is active (0600–2300 local).

You have completed a 45-minute local flight and are returning to land. On downwind for Runway 18, you brief yourself: the crosswind is manageable, the runway is long, and you have done this many times. You request landing clearance. Tower clears you to land, wind 180° at 12 gusting 22.

On base leg, you are at 500 ft AGL, airspeed 80 KIAS, flaps 10°. You are stable and on glide path. On short final, you are at 200 ft AGL, airspeed 65 KIAS (Vref, approach speed), flaps 30° (full), crabbed left into the wind. The runway is made. You are committed to the landing.

At 50 ft AGL, a gust hits from the left. The left wing lifts. You correct with right aileron. The airplane bounces — the left main gear touches, then the nose gear, then the airplane is airborne again at 30 ft AGL, still over the runway, but drifting right. You have a decision to make: land again or go around.

Aircraft: Cessna 172N, solo, full fuel, within limits. Pilot: you — a Private pilot, current, roughly 180 hours total. You have done 20–30 landings in crosswind, but nothing this gusty. You have practiced go-arounds in training, but not in wind like this. The tower is watching. The runway is long. But you are at 30 ft AGL with full flaps and a crosswind gust pushing you right.

Off Runway 18's departure end (heading 171°) is medium development and open developed areas (parks, large lots). Off Runway 36's departure end (heading 351°) is open water and open developed areas — a ditching environment. You are landing on Runway 18, so the off-field environment on approach is marginal (dense/medium development), not a ditching. But at 30 ft AGL, you are still over the runway. The decision is: land or go around.

NTSB WPR23FA247 (2023, FATAL): A newly certified private pilot on his first post-checkride flight encountered a bounce during landing in gusty wind. The pilot initiated a go-around but allowed the airspeed to decay as he pitched up aggressively. The airplane stalled at approximately 50 ft AGL with full flaps extended. The nose dropped, the left wing dropped, and the airplane rolled inverted, impacting buildings. The probable cause was the pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during the go-around, with flap retraction contributing to the loss of control. The pilot had minimal experience with go-arounds in gusty wind.

NTSB ERA25LA164 (2025): A student pilot on a training flight aborted a landing due to gusting crosswind drift. The student applied full throttle for a go-around but was unable to maintain proper control inputs and entered a stall/spin. The aircraft impacted terrain nose-down with substantial left wing damage. The probable cause was the student's failure to maintain airplane control during the go-around, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin. The flight instructor was present but did not intervene in time.

NTSB ERA20CA072 (2020, Beech C23): A Beech 23 on an instructional flight bounced during landing in crosswind conditions. The airplane became airborne and entered a full stall during the go-around despite full power and flaps. The probable cause was the pilot's failure to maintain control during landing and the flight instructor's delayed intervention. The regional pattern is clear: bounces in gusty wind lead to go-around attempts, and go-around attempts in gusty wind lead to stalls if airspeed is not maintained.

NTSB GAA17CA103 (2016, Piper PA-28): A Piper PA-28 encountered multiple crosswind gusts during approach and go-around. The left wing dropped and contacted the ground during the go-around, causing the aircraft to cartwheel. The probable cause was the pilot's inadequate compensation for crosswind conditions during the go-around. The pattern: a gust causes a wing drop, the pilot corrects with aileron, but without coordinated rudder the correction is incomplete, and the wing drop persists into the go-around.

The real accidents cited above occurred at other airports and in other aircraft — NOT at KPIE. KPIE's own dominant accident pattern shows LOSS_OF_CONTROL_INFLIGHT (21.2%), LOSS_OF_CONTROL_GROUND (15.2%), and STALL_SPIN (12.1%) as the leading causes. The scenario is localized to KPIE to make the field's environment and runway geometry real for you as a student here.

The consistent thread across all these events: the go-around in gusty wind is a high-risk maneuver. The pilot must commit to the go-around early, apply full throttle immediately, maintain airspeed (not pitch attitude), retract flaps gradually, and coordinate all control inputs. A hesitation at 30 ft AGL, an aggressive pitch-up, or a sudden flap retraction can trigger a stall. At 40–50 ft AGL, a stall is fatal. The margin is measured in seconds.