# Accident 19980516035449A: Cessna 182L, Marlboro, MA, May 16, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 16, 1998, 13:15 local time - Place: Marlboro, MA - Airport: Marlboro Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 42.3432° N, 71.5090° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Marlboro Airport, closed, within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.3432&lon=-71.5090&mi=10 - Aircraft: N42770, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N42770) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 182L (registry code 2072726, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182l) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental O-470 series (registry code 17026, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182L - Reported engine: CONT O470R - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 1,165 total, 800 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD98LA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98LA069) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980516035449A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MAY 16, 1998, ABOUT 1315 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 182L, N42770, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A HARD LANDING AT THE MARLBOROUGH AIRPORT (9B1), MARLBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT/OWNER AND PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL JETPORT (PWM), PORTLAND, MAINE, ABOUT 1200, AND TERMINATED AT FITCHBURG MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (FIT), FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, AT 1330. THE PILOT STATED THAT AFTER DEPARTING PWM, HE FLEW FOR AWHILE, AND AT 1315, ATTEMPTED TO LAND AT 9B1. HE REPORTED THAT HE COULD NOT REMEMBER THE WINDS THAT DAY, BUT FELT HE HAD A CROSSWIND ON LANDING. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE CHOSE RUNWAY 14 BECAUSE HE WAS FOLLOWING AN AIRPLANE WHICH HAD JUST DEPARTED FROM RUNWAY 14, WHICH WAS 1.682 FEET LONG AND 50 FEET WIDE. THE PILOT STATED THAT WITH FLAPS FULL DOWN, AND AIRSPEED BETWEEN 70 AND 80 MPH, HE WAS A "LITTLE HIGH" ON SHORT FINAL. HE REPORTED THAT HE WAS ALSO "STARTLED" BY A CHAIN LINK FENCE BUTTED UP AGAINST THE APPROACH END OF THE RUNWAY. HE FURTHER STATED: "...THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY DROPPED AND STRUCK THE RUNWAY. I ADDED POWER TO ABORT THE LANDING AND FLEW DIRECTLY TO FIT, WHICH HAD MUCH LONGER RUNWAYS." AFTER LANDING AT FIT, THE PILOT TOOK THE AIRPLANE TO A FIX BASE OPERATOR ON THE AIRPORT FOR REPAIRS. THE PILOT STATED THAT NO ONE WAS NOTIFIED BECAUSE THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE WAS UNKNOWN. ON JUNE 18, 1998, THE REPAIR WORK WAS POINTED OUT TO A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR. THE INSPECTOR DETERMINED THAT THE FIREWALL REPLACEMENT, IN ADDITION TO NUMEROUS OTHER WRINKLES FOUND ON THE FUSELAGE, WAS SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, AND INITIATED THE NOTIFICATION FOR THE ACCIDENT. (.4) THE PILOT MADE AN APPROACH TO A RUNWAY WHICH WAS 1,682 FEET LONG, WITH THE WINDS FROM 080 DEGREES AT 9 KNOTS. THE PILOT SAID HE WAS A 'LITTLE HIGH' ON SHORT FINAL AND THE AIRPLANE 'DROPPED FASTER' THAN HE WANTED IT TO. THE AIRPLANE LANDED HARD AND THE PILOT ABORTED THE LANDING AND LANDED AT ANOTHER AIRPORT UNEVENTFULLY. (-23) PILOT WAS ON A VFR FLIGHT FORM PWM TO MARLBORO, MA (9B1). AT MARLBORO THE PILOT HAD A CROSSWIND AND A SHORT (1700') RUNWAY TO CONTEND WITH. HE STATED THAT "THE AIRPLANE DROPPED FASTER THAN HE WANTED, TOUCHED DOWN, AND HE MADE A GO AROUND." HE ELECTED NOT TO TRY ANOTHER APPROACH AT MARLBORO AND FLEW TO FJT WHICH HAD A LONGER RUNWAY MORE ALIGNED INTO THE WIND. HE BECAME AWARE OF THE DAMAGE ONLY AFTER SHUTDOWN BUT WAS NOT AWARE THAT IT WAS SUBSTANTIAL. THEREFORE HE DID NOT REPORT THE EVENT THAT DAY (05/16/98). ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB IAD98LA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98LA069), May 16, 1998: Cessna 182L (N42770), Marlborough, MA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper flare. A related factor was the crosswind. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.