Bounce and Climb

Departing Zephyrhills Municipal Airport (KZPH), Zephyrhills, FL — Runway 19, approaching to land on a gusty afternoon. Field elevation 90 ft MSL. You are on a local solo flight, practicing approaches and landings in variable wind conditions.

Weather: VFR, but the wind is gusting. Surface wind is reported as 180° at 12 knots, gusting to 22 knots. Runway 19 is aligned 180° true, so the wind is nearly aligned with the runway — but the gusts are strong and variable. Visibility is 8 SM in light haze. Scattered clouds at 3,500 ft AGL. The field is busy; three other aircraft are in the pattern.

You are on final approach to Runway 19, 1.2 nm out, descending through 600 ft AGL. Your approach has been unstable from the beginning: you were high on the glide path, corrected with a slip, then became low, and corrected again with power. You are now at 400 ft AGL, 0.6 nm from the runway, and the airplane is drifting left of the centerline. A gust pushes the left wing down. You correct with right aileron, but the correction feels sluggish — the airplane is at 55 KIAS, near stall speed. You are not comfortable with this approach.

Aircraft: Piper Cherokee 180, solo, 1,800 lb gross weight, within limits. Carbureted Lycoming O-360-A, fixed-pitch prop, fixed gear, steam panel. Fuel selector on RIGHT tank (you switched from LEFT at midfield). Flaps are at 20°. Power is at 1,200 RPM.

Pilot: you — a Private pilot, current, roughly 180 hours total. You have 12 hours in the Cherokee 180; most of your time is in a Cessna 172. The Cherokee's handling is slightly different — it is more responsive to pitch inputs, and the stall characteristics are sharper. You have not practiced go-arounds in gusty conditions.

NTSB WPR25LA275 (2025): A Piper PA-28-180 on a personal flight experienced a delayed go-around decision from an unstabilized approach with inadequate airspeed. The pilot attempted to salvage the landing, resulting in a hard landing, bounce, and nose-over on a dirt mound. The probable cause was the pilot's delayed go-around decision from an unstabilized approach. The pilot survived but the aircraft was substantially damaged.

NTSB CEN24LA323 (2024): A Piper PA-28 flown by a student pilot on a solo cross-country flight drifted left of the runway centerline on final approach and struck a fence during an attempted go-around. The probable cause was the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the approach and subsequent go-around. The accident occurred at a non-towered field in gusty wind conditions.

NTSB CEN21LA291 (2021): A Piper PA-28-180 on an instructional flight encountered a strong right-to-left wind gust during landing approach. The instructor initiated a go-around but failed to maintain control, and the left wing struck the ground. The probable cause was the flight instructor's failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing flare and subsequent attempted go-around with a strong quartering crosswind.

NTSB CEN13CA247 (2013): A Piper PA-28-180 on an instructional flight experienced loss of directional control during a go-around from an aborted landing and impacted grass adjacent to the runway. The probable cause was the pilot's loss of directional control during an aborted landing. The accident occurred in gusty wind conditions at a non-towered field.

NTSB ATL07CA048 (2007): A Mooney M20J stalled during a go-around at 20–30 feet AGL with landing gear and flaps extended, striking the ground in an uncontrolled descent. The probable cause was the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the go-around and inadequate adherence to the aircraft's operating procedures. The stall occurred because the pilot pitched up aggressively without maintaining safe airspeed.

NTSB ERA20CA072 (2020): A Beech 23 on an instructional flight bounced during landing in crosswind conditions, 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 stall occurred because the pitch attitude was too high relative to the available airspeed.

The common thread across all these accidents: the go-around decision is made too late, or the go-around is flown incorrectly. In every case, the pilot either (1) delayed the go-around from an unstabilized approach, (2) pitched up aggressively at low airspeed, or (3) failed to maintain directional control during the climb. At KZPH, the off-field environment off Runway 19 (heading 180°) is marginal — mostly open developed areas, parks, and evergreen forest. A loss of control during a go-around at low altitude could result in impact with terrain or structures adjacent to the runway. The real accidents cited above occurred at other airports — NOT at KZPH. However, the conditions (gusty wind, non-towered field, low-altitude go-around) are the same.

The consistent lesson: a go-around decision should be made EARLY, from the moment an approach becomes unstable. Full power should be applied smoothly, pitch attitude should be kept shallow (level or slightly nose-up), and airspeed should be maintained above 65 KIAS throughout the climb. Flaps should be retracted gradually, not all at once. Directional control should be maintained with coordinated rudder and aileron inputs. At low altitude over a non-towered field in gusty conditions, the margin for error is zero.