# Accident 20001231033519A: Cessna 177, Las Cruces, NM, December 31, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 31, 2000, 10:45 local time - Place: Las Cruces, NM - Airport: Las Cruces International Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Touch And Go Landing - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 32.2907° N, 106.7499° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.2907&lon=-106.7499&mi=10 - Aircraft: N29572, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N29572-2018-01-18) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 177 (registry code 2073704, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-177) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 177 - Reported engine: LYC O360A3A - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 103 total, 8 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN01LA037](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01LA037) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001231033519A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)ON DECEMBER 31, 2000, APPROX. 1101 MST, A CESSNA 177 CARDINAL (N29572) REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY AVIATION ENTERPRISES, INC., 505 FAIRACRES, NM 88044, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE DURING AN ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND FOLLOWING A HARD LANDING AT THE LAS CRUCES AIRPORT (LRU), LAS CRUCES, NM. THE PRIVATE PILOT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT AND WAS UNINJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PLEASURE FLIGHT UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 THAT ORIGINATED AT LRU AT 1049 MST. DURING AN INTERVIEW, ^PRIVACY DA^STATED HE WAS PRACTICING TOUCH & GO(S) WITH FULL FLAPS, WHEN THE A/C LANDED HARD AND BOUNCED. HE IMMEDIATELY APPLIED FULL POWER AND, AS THE A/C BECAME AIRBORNE, BEGAN TO RETRACT THE FLAPS. THE A/C BEGAN SLOWLY TURNING TOWARD THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND TOUCHED DOWN AS THE FLAPS RETRACTED. THE A/C CONTINUED OFF THE RUNWAY AND WAS DAMAGED BY THE TERRAIN. (.4)ON DECEMBER 31, 2000, APPROXIMATELY 1045 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 177, N29572, OWNED BY AVIATION ENTERPRISES, INC., AND OPERATED BY MESILLA VALLEY AVIATION, BOTH OF LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN WHILE LANDING AT LAS CRUCES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT ABOARD, WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM LAS CRUCES AT 1035. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT'S ACCIDENT REPORT, HE TOOK OFF AND STAYED IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN WITH THE INTENTION OF MAKING A TOUCH AND GO LANDING. "MY APPROACH WAS ROUTINE AND I STARTED MY FLARE 4 TO 5 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY WITH FULL FLAPS", THE PILOT WROTE. "I MADE A SMOOTH TOUCHDOWN; HOWEVER, THE AIRSPEED WAS ABOVE STALL SPEED AFTER TOUCHDOWN. I CONTINUED BACK PRESSURE ON THE YOKE TO KEEP THE NOSE WHEEL OFF THE GROUND. THE PLANE BECAME AIRBORNE, STALLED, CAME DOWN NOSE LOW AND BOUNCED. WHEN THIS HAPPENED AGAIN, I APPLIED FULL POWER AND RETRACTED THE FLAPS TO ABORT THE LANDING. THE PLANE GROUND LOOPED TO THE LEFT OFF THE RUNWAY INTO SAND AND BRUSH." THE LEFT LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED, AND THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LEFT WING AND HORIZONTAL STABILATOR WERE DAMAGED. THE PILOT NOTED THAT HIS ONLY PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN THE CESSNA 177 WAS WITH AN INSTRUCTOR IN FEBRUARY 2000. AT THAT TIME, HE LOGGED 7.8 HOURS. COMMENTING HOW THE ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED, THE PILOT WROTE: "BETTER PILOTING. (1) BY HOLDING THE PLANE OFF THE RUNWAY UNTIL IT STARTS TO STALL. (2) AFTER TOUCHDOWN, ADJUST BACK PRESSURE ON YOKE MORE PRECISELY TO CONTROL ROLLOUT." ## 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 DEN01LA037](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01LA037), Dec 31, 2000: Cessna 177 (N29572), Las Cruces, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: An inadvertent stall. Factors were excessive airspeed, excessive flare, and improper recovery from a bounced landing. ## Other reports on N29572 (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19980927026679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980927026679A), Sep 27, 1998: Cessna 177 (N29572), Belen, NM, Substantial damage. (.4)On September 27, 1998, approximately 1100 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 177A, N29572, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged… 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.